Despite higher emoluments offered to GPs in deprived areas by the health ministry, only 1500 general practitioners showed readiness to work in underserved areas, said Seyed Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi, health minister.
“This means that either we don’t have enough GPs in the country or they are registered in the National Medical Council, but not active in the healthcare system and are working in other fields,” he noted, reports IRNA.
He pointed to the “commotion on physicians’ unemployment” and said, “I was convinced that 20,000 GPs are unemployed in the country; therefore we offered a monthly salary of $4500-5000 (which is thrice a GP salary in the capital) to GPs who are ready to work in remote areas. But unfortunately the plan was not welcomed by physicians,” he regretted.
Before the new offer in May 2014, the maximum salary of physicians in deprived areas was $600-$1500.
Hashemi said encouraging private sector in academia as well as establishing universities in neighboring countries like the UAE, Iraqi Kurdistan, Turkey and Kuwait, can help students study in their own academic institutions.
