The health care delivery system is gradually reforming due largely to rising demand as the population ages. People over the age of 60 now make up 9.5% (7.6 million) of Iran’s population of 80 million. In 2006, 7.3% of the population or 5.1 million people were classified as elderly.
To meet the increasing health care demands of seniors, Iranian Nursing Organization has plans to establish one home nursing center for every 50,000 people in the country (1600 centers).
“So far almost 1,000 centers have received working permits from the Health Ministry,” said the deputy for nursing affairs at the Health Ministry, Mohammad Mirza Beigi, on Saturday. He was speaking on the sidelines of the 2nd National Community-Focused Nursing Conference which was held at Razi Conference Hall.
As per law passed by the Majlis (parliament) in January 2017, in-home nursing care provided by registered and licensed nurses is recognized as a full-time job with all the benefits and perks.
In-home nursing services can effectively contribute to and be a major player in public health and the INO says in-home nursing care has potential to create jobs for 300,000 nurses.
Earlier, Mohammad Sharifi Moqaddam, deputy head of INO had said that “the plan when implemented will prevent unnecessary hospital admission as many chronically-ill patients can easily receive the required medical care at home.”
Homecare will also reduce hospitalization costs. “Patients are also less likely to get hospital-acquired infections,” he noted.
Based on 2016 data, the average nurse-patient ratio stands at 1.5 per 1,000. This figure must at the least double in order to achieve the minimum standards of nursing care. At present, there is a deficit of 140,000 nurses in hospitals across the country. To solve the problem, the number of seats in medical universities for nursing students was increased from 6,000 in 2014 to 12,000 in 2016.
Tarrifs
In June tariffs for 30 home nursing services were proposed jointly by the ministries of health and labor and approved by the High Insurance Council.
Based on the tariffs, the rate of professional nursing for patients without disabilities is 150,000 rials ($4) per hour and those with restricted mobility and disability have to pay 180,000 rials ($4.8) per hour.
For patients who need special cardiovascular care the cost is 200,000 rials ($5.3) per hour.
The other 27 types of home nursing services are in the same cost range.
Kazem Mikaeili, head of Health Insurance Department at the Labor Ministry, said such home the services are not covered by insurance organizations.
“In the absence of tariffs there was dissatisfaction among both nursing care providers and patients. The pricing system will help address the problem,” he said.
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