Referring to implementation of the Health Reform Plan, Chancellor of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences said: ‘Implementing this plan is an important step in enhancing health in the country and even in the region and has preserved dignity of the patients’.

Congratulating on the thirty-eighths anniversary of the Islamic Revolution victory, Dr. Mehrabi Bahar pointed that before this plan was implemented, patients had trouble receiving discount on hospitalization costs. He noted: ‘Currently, patients hospitalized in urban areas pay 7 percent of the costs and 5 percent of the costs under the referral system and many problems facing the patients regarding the hospitalization costs are now resolved’.

Pointing to the fact that justice is relatively established in the area of health care services, he said: ‘Before this plan was implemented, people had difficulty accessing health care services while physicians are now providing full-time services for the patients in Mashhad and all townships under its coverage’.

He announces that specialists stayed for 13 days before this plan was implemented and said: ‘This number has now reached to 24 full days’.

Family Doctor Plan Focusing On Preventing and Controlling Non-Contingent Diseases Implemented

Referring to the implementation of the Family Doctor Plan, Chancellor of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences stated: ‘Under this plan, every 3,500 persons receive coverage of one doctor and implementation of this plan prevents from non-contingent diseases or problems caused by such diseases’.

Mentioning that all the population of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences receive coverage of the Family Doctor Plan, Dr. Mehrabi Bahar said: ‘Under this plan, an electronic health file is created for each patient and all their health and illness records are registered in that file’.

Active Health Care Services Provided for the Suburban Population

Referring to the expansion of health care services in suburban areas of Mashhad, Chancellor of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences said: ‘With 1,200,000 suburban population, Mashhad has the highest number of such population and by implementing the Health Reform Plan it is the first city throughout the country that has provided coverage for settlers of these areas’.

Dr. Mehrabi Bahar stated: ‘According to this plan, every 12,000 to 15,000 persons receives coverage of one health unit and every 30,000 to 50,000 persons are provided with coverage of one comprehensive health center’.

He mentioned that in the area of finding patients with a focus on preventing and controlling non-contingent diseases services are actively provided. He said: ‘In comprehensive health centers, health teams including midwives, psychologists, nutrition experts, as well as a physician are present and actively provide services for the patients’.

43 Percent of Faculty Members of the University Are Full Professors and Associate Professors

He stated that 850 faculty members work in Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, of which 43 percent are full and associate professors.

He announced that 8500 students are studying in the university and said: ‘They are studying in various grades including B. Sc, M. Sc, PhD, Professional and sub-specialist Doctorate in 161 fields of study’.

Stating that Mashhad University of Medical Sciences provides coverage for 14 townships of Khorasan Razavi Province, Chancellor of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences said: ’26 hospitals are active in these townships including Mashhad and two more hospitals will soon be added to this number’.

Enhancing Indicators of Health in Areas under Mashhad University of Medical Sciences 

Dr. Mehrabi Bahar noted that mortality of children below one or 5 years of age and pregnant women’s mortality are among the most important indicators of health. He said: ‘At the beginning of the Islamic Revolution, infants’ mortality was 112 in every one thousand while this number has now been reduced to 11 in every one thousand; mortality rate in children under one year of age is reduced from 129 in every one thousand to 27 in every one thousand, and mortality of children under the age of 5 has been reduced from 175 to 35 in every one thousand’

Pointing that the situation in the area of health has begun to improve and health care services have expanded since the mid 1980s, Dr. Mehrabi Bahar noted: ‘Mortality of pregnant women has been reduced from 245 in every one hundred thousand at the beginning of the Islamic Revolution to 35 in every one hundred thousand’.

He pointed out that life expectancy is one the most crucial indicators of health countries and said: ‘At the beginning of the Islamic Revolution, life expectancy indicator was 57 years while this year the number was increased to 75 years; although many countries experienced an increase in the life expectancy indicator, rapidness of this increase in our country is rare and we are among the first five countries in this regard’.

97 Percent Coverage of Vaccination throughout the Country; Iran among Top Countries

Chancellor of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences believes that population growth rate is a challenge that now faces the country. He said: ‘The population growth rate was 4 at the beginning of the 1980s, but this rate is now reduced to 1.4; while if the population growth rate is 2.1 in a country with favorable health conditions, the growth rate remains constant and we should notice that population growth is currently very low which severely damages the country’. 

Dr. Mehrabi Bahar mentioned to vaccination coverage as an honor for the Islamic Republic of Iran and said: ‘At the beginning of the Islamic Revolution vaccination coverage was not considerable while with 97 percent coverage we now rank among the first countries’.