The impact of the Iranian health transformation plan policy on equitable access to medical imaging services in West Iran

Saran, Maryam and Darvishi Teli, Banafsheh and Darvishi Teli, Banafsheh and Nouraei Motlagh, Soraya and Behzadifar, Meysam and Haghighatfard, Payam and Luigi Bragazzi, Nicola and Behzadifar, Masoud (2023) The impact of the Iranian health transformation plan policy on equitable access to medical imaging services in West Iran. BMC Res Notes, 16.

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Abstract

Objective: Equity in the delivery of health services, including diagnostic imaging, is crucial to achieving universal health coverage. The Health Transformation Plan (HTP), launched in 2014, represents a major healthcare policy to improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare services. This study aimed to explore the impact of the HTP on equity in the access to medical imaging in Lorestan province, located in west Iran, from 2014 to 2023. Annual growth rates (AGR) of imaging devices were calculated, whilst equity assessment of medical imaging distribution was carried out by means of the Gini coefficient and the Lorenz curve per 100,000 population. The latter was generated using the cumulative distribution of imaging devices, as well as the cumulative population ratio. Results: Between 2014 and 2023, the number of imaging devices has increased threefold. The AGR of installing CT and MRI scanners in Lorestan province increased between 2014 and 2023. The Gini coefficients increased from 0.12 for CT and 0.16 for MRI in 2014 to 0.33 in 2023 for both devices. This indicates a decrease in equity in access to these fundamental health technologies despite the increase in their figures. Policymakers should better allocate medical equipment based on the specific health needs of different regions throughout Iran. Keywords: Diagnostic imaging; Equity in Healthcare; Gini Coefficient; Health Economics; Health Policy; Health Transformation Plan; Iran; Lorenz Curve.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine
Divisions: Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences > School of Medicine
Depositing User: samira sepahvandy
Date Deposited: 06 Dec 2023 05:33
Last Modified: 06 Dec 2023 08:09
URI: http://eprints.lums.ac.ir/id/eprint/4527

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