Iranian Journal of Epidemiology
Year:2017 | Volume:12 | Issue:5 (SPECIAL ISSUE)|Papers Count:12

Background and Objectives: Out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure is one of the main indicators in health financing, indicating risk pooling and risk spreading. This study aimed to calculate the total health expenditure (THE), the THE per capita and share of OOP in each province from 2008 to 2014.Methods: The present cross-sectional study was done by collecting provincial health expenditure data from public and private organizations during 2008-2014. The data were approved by board of trustees or board of directors in each organization. The relevant data on household health expenditures were collected from the Statistical Centre of Iran, as well.Results: Even though the absolute monetary value (IRR) of OOP in the study years showed an increase, it decreased from 51.9% in 2008 to 40.6% in 2014 in terms of share. The absolute monetary value (IRR) of THE and THE per capita increased about 3.5 times in all provinces. So, during the study years, Tehran and Sistan and Baluchistan Provinces had the highest and lowest absolute monetary values (IRR) in THE per capita and this difference increased from 2.12 million Rials in 2008 to 10.56 million Rials in 2014.Conclusion: Although the share of OOP decreased in all provinces in the country during the study years, it is still far from the objective of the national development plans (30% OOP). In order to improve the study indices and reduce the provincial inequity, it is suggested to put more emphasis on prepaid-based mechanisms, insurance system improvement, and equitable distribution of financial resources should be compatible with the deprivation of the area and its infrastructures.

Background and Objectives: Health insurance would guarantee people security against disease and health problems. Given the key role of health insurance in achieving the goals of justice and reducing the out-of-pocket payment, this study aimed to evaluate the performance of Iran health insurance using the DEA model in 2014.Methods: This was a cross sectional study. The study population included all Iran health insurance organizations. DEA input and output criteria were selected by targeted library and documentary review and the data were collected accordingly. The determinants of efficiency were evaluated using liner regression.Results: The mean technical, management, and scale efficiency of Iran health insurance head offices was 0.593, 0.761, and 0.721, respectively. Considering the findings, the capacity of efficiency promotion at these head offices was approximately 41%. Regarding technical efficiency, 5 head offices had the maximum efficiency (1), 7 head offices had efficiency between 0.5 and 1, and 19 head offices had efficiency less than 0.5. In addition, the variables of population and total number of institutions had a significant impact on efficiency.Conclusion: Based on defined variables, input oriented AP-DEA model was appropriate. The results showed a great capacity for increasing technical efficiency in the Iranian health insurance organizations which could be increased by benchmarking efficient and reference organizations and also adjusting their input. For this purpose, downsizing and agility of the Iranian health insurance organizations based on the e-government clause are proposed for administrative system reform.

Background and Objectives: One of the fair financial protection indexes in monitoring health systems is estimating impoverishment due to health care expenditure. The aim of this study was to measure the percentage of households impoverished due to out-of-pocket(OOP) payments in Iran provinces during2008-2014.Methods: The present retrospective descriptive study was conducted based on data from Household Income and Expenditure Survey in both rural and urban households. The proportion of households that moved below the poverty line after deducting health care costs was calculated. The poverty line for urban and rural areas was calculated based on household food expenditure. To show the provincial dispersion of the index during this period, the coefficient of variation (CV) was used. Mann-WhitneyU test and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data.Results: Golestan, North Khorasan, and Kerman had the highest impoverishment rate due to OOP Moreover, Alborz, Tehran, and Bushehr had the lowest impoverishment rate due to OOP. In all the study years, the average impoverishment due to OOP was significantly higher in rural areas compared to urban areas. Provincial dispersion CV for this index did not have a constant trend.Conclusion: The results of this study provide valuable evidence for policy-makers to estimate the impact of OOPs on household impoverishment. In order to reduce impoverishment due to OOP, supportive targeted interventions for vulnerable and low-income households, especially rural households, in addition to decreasing the share of OOP, are essential, such as developing health subsidies and improving insurance service packages.

Background and Objectives: Productivity and efficiency are the most important and the most common mechanisms of evaluation and measurement of the performance of an enterprise including the Social Security Organization. In the past decades, performance evaluation of various economic sectors has been attractive to researchers in different disciplines. Thus, the aim of this study was to measure the efficiency of the direct treatment section of treatment management units of Social Security Organization by data envelopment analysis method.Methods: This descriptive- analytic study was conducted to measure the efficiency of the direct treatment section of treatment management units of Social Security Organization through the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method in 2014. Data and relevant statistics were collected from the Statistical Center of Social Security Organization. The Deap2.1 software was used to calculate the efficiency and the EMS software was used to calculate the super efficiency. Then, the hypotheses of the research were studied using the Stata software.Results: The average technical efficiency, managerial efficiency, and scale efficiency in 2014 was 0.924, 0.992, and 0.932, respectively. Twelve decision making units (DMUs) had the maximum technical efficiency (1), 16 DMUs had technical efficiency between 0.8 and 1, and 3 units had technical efficiency less than 0.8.Conclusion: This study introduces a functional pattern to managers of Social Security Organization that enables them to have more accurate planning for the development and saving of resources.

Background and Objectives: Catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) is a key indicator for measuring households' financial protection in the health system. This study was conducted to measure the incidence and intensity of CHE in Iranian provinces 2008-2014.Methods: When the out-of-pocket (OOP) spending of each household amounts to at least 40% of the household's capacity to pay, it is called a catastrophe. The incidence of CHE in Iranian provinces was estimated using the data obtained from household-expenditure-and-income-surveys. The intensity was calculated as the average extent to which OOPs exceeded the 40% threshold. Descriptive statistics and Mann-WhitneyU test were used for data analysis. The index of disparity (ID) was also calculated for geographical disparities across the provinces.Results: On average, the lowest and highest CHE incidence and intensity were seen in Fars and South Khorasan provinces respectively. However, the highest and lowest rate for CHE households that actually experienced catastrophe at the 40% threshold belonged to Fars and Kurdistan provinces. The incidence of CHE in rural was more than urban areas. ID of CHE incidence for targeted amount was high and had no constant trend.Conclusion: CHE incidence had a remarkable difference in different provinces and in the rural area compared to the urban area. Due to the importance of this index in promoting health financial protection, like indexes such as OOP, its distribution in rural and urban areas as well as in different provinces is considerable. It requires a structured format to identify the disadvantaged and low-income groups and provide financial-support and insurance for them.

Background and Objectives: Universities of medical sciences play a vital role in promoting population health and without a doubt, their performance should be measured and evaluated.Methods: The study was a mixed method study (consecutive combination) and the universities were examined by census. In the qualitative phase of the study, by examining the documents and focused group discussions, the basic framework of the performance evaluation model and its associated challenges were elicited. Then, the policies, objectives, and strategies related to each dimension were extracted and finally, key indicators were selected. Finally, by running Analytic Hierarchy Process method, the weight of dimensions and their key aspects were calculated and the model was implemented.Results: BSC was designed in accordance with the universities. In this model, four main aspects including population health, services, finance, and development were identified. Then, by reviewing the documents, key policies and strategies, key policies and criteria, primary and secondary strategies were extracted. 13 key indicators were chosen as the final indexes. Moreover, 3 main challenges and 11 secondary challenges were identified. The results of the AHP-BSC model indicated that categorizing (ranking) universities had an impact on their functional status.Conclusion: The main challenge for evaluating the performance of universities was the presence of a logical connection between policies, strategies, and criteria to have comprehensive and concise indexes for evaluation and ranking.

Background and Objectives: Efficiency measurement can be used for all decision-makers and planners for useful resource allocation. Social Security Organization as a health service provider, provides part of health care services in indirect sector. This study aimed to assess the performance of provincial units of Social Security Organization in the indirect health services sector.Methods: This descriptive analytical study was conducted based on the available data of Social Security Organization in 2014. To assess efficiency and super-efficiency, the DEA-VRS and Anderson-Peterson rating model were used, respectively. Factors affecting the efficiency were evaluated using multivariate regression.Results: The primary efficacy analysis showed that 61% of the provincial units of Social Security had maximum efficiency. Average efficiency was 0.94. After super-efficiency analysis, it was found that Markazi and Kerman provincial units were the most efficient and the most inefficient units, respectively. Additionally, none of the variables had a significant impact on the efficiency.Conclusion: Evaluation of the general performance of provincial units reflected the good state of technical efficiency in the indirect health service sector. On the other hand, the scale efficiency of inefficient units compared with managerial efficiency had a higher share of inefficiency. Optimum performance can be achieved through modification of managerial practices for optimal utilization of resources and factors.

Background and Objectives: Timely access to required health services without any financial hardship is necessary to achieve public health. Therefore, the aim of present study was to review the policies and plans adopted in the health financing system.Methods: The qualitative study with a policy research approach reviewed upstream laws, policies, and plans in Iranian health financing. Then, by holding seven focused group discussions with 28 participants who represented various stakeholders, financing policies and programs were identified. Using framework analysis, the data were coded and categorized.Results: In response to health financial protection indexes improvement, policies and plans in this field were defined in 10 themes and 4 categories: resources collection, resources management and pooling, resources allocation, and strategic purchasing of health services. The most important policies and plans were integration of insurance funds, increasing sustainable financial resources and targeted allocation of subsidies, services priority setting, establishment and improvement of a performance-based payment system with emphasis on integration of the professional element in the public and private sectors.Conclusion: There is no gap for documented laws and policies in the Iranian health financing system. The main barriers are the method of implementation and adequate commitment to laws that have created major difficulties in relation to financial protection. Resolving these barrierrs requires sufficient political support and a common understanding between stakeholders at different levels of policymaking and implementation and designing programs based on the infrastructures.

Good governance promotion in the health sector needs effective policies and evidence-based decision making. Using efficient and effective information is an important issue so that planners will not be confused amid many figures and numbers and also the main problem will not be marginalized. Hence, having a common language and consensus between policy makers and decision makers about the cycle (collecting and processing information, analysis, and judgment) and decision-making tools (criterion, indicator, index, and variable) is an initial and crucial step in evidence-based decision making. The main challenge for creating such an information system is the lack of a common language among scientific and executive experts; so the aim of this study was to provide a perspective of the concept of decision-making and the main components of its cycle and tools and to review these concepts in health care financing system.

Governance and leadership are seen as the most important function in the realization and promotion of community health. This two components through legislation must identify present situation, determine the desirable situation, provide infrastructures and implementation mechanisms and in accordance with stated policies and planning, they should apply necessary monitoring and control. In this regard, the most important challenge is a comprehensive and evidence-based identification and analysis, which can consider all functions in relation to the objectives at a general and coherent glance and assess the functions of the health system.