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Refusal of Some Anaesthetists to Practice in Iran

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NCRI Staff

NCRI – A number of specialists in the field of anaesthesia have stopped working in various cities of Iran. The chairman of the anaesthesiology association called the 25 percent reduction in anaesthetic tariffs “non-expert” that led to more than 25 percent reduction in the income of the specialists in the field.

According to the state-run ISNA news agency on September 13, Alireza Salimi has described the working conditions of more than four thousand anaesthetists in various parts of Iran as a major problem.

The statistics released by the Anaesthesiology Association has also confirmed the news about the refusal of some anaesthesiologists to perform unnecessary operations in some cities. He warned that “when the conditions are not good, the quality of treatment will also decrease.”

Reza Aminnejad, another member of anaesthesiology group, also criticized the 25% reduction in anaesthesia tariffs, saying that in Iran, practically “Anaesthesiologists received 20 times less than a surgeon during surgical operations.”

“Throughout the world, specialists in the field of anaesthesia, because of their high stress and criticality in surgery, receive wages equal to the surgeons and even in some cases more than the surgeons,” he said.

“Over the past six months, anaesthesiologists have consulted with 25 parliamentarians, ministers of welfare and health, and vice presidents. All of these people have confirmed the lack of accountability of these tariffs and promised to cooperate with the anaesthesiologists, but no one has done anything,” he added.

Regarding the causes of disagreement between anaesthesiologists and the Ministry of Health, Aminnejad said that the review of the Medical Services Valuation Book announced that the anaesthetic tariffs would be reduced by 25 percent, but preliminary studies by the experts showed that the decline was 40 percent.

He added that a 25 percent reduction in anaesthesia tariffs “would save the Health Ministry less than one percent in costs, according to the Ministry.”

According to this member of the Anaesthesiologists Association, “Elite people enter the field of anaesthesia all over the world, but in our country the willingness of general practitioners to enter it has been reduced… With the continuation of this trend in the next 10 years, we will not have anyone who is worthy of it.”

Following the approval of 2017 tariffs by Hassan Rouhani’s first administration and lowering the tariffs of some disciplines, including anaesthesia, a wave of protests by specialists from this field was launched against the Ministry of Health.

Although there have been reports of “decisions taken” by the Ministry of Health to prevent the anaesthesiologists protests from continuing, however, it seems that these decisions did not go a long way.

The Secretary of the Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care had previously said that if the Court of Administrative Justice and the Ministry of Health do not convince the anaesthesiologists, they may not anaesthetize some patients.

Anaesthesiologists have announced that they will continue their protests by launching a campaign “No to discriminatory reduction in anaesthesia tariffs.”