Document and Media Analysis on Unnecessary Services in the Iranian Healthcare System

Unnecessary health care is a service that provides with a higher amount or cost. In addition to harming service recipients, these services also impose financial costs on them and the health system. Due to the importance of the subject, this study was conducted with the aim of analyzing the media and related documents in the field of using unnecessary services in the Iranian health system.

This research was conducted by reviewing upstream documents and interviews with officials in the media about unnecessary service. Search for relevant documents was conducted through databases, country reports, or related sites, as well as interviews conducted with reputable domestic media. To analyze the data, situational content analysis method was used, which after reading the texts, codes and categories were extracted directly from the textual data.

11 documentaries and 81 news codes were included in the study. Factors affecting the prescribing of non-essential services were classified into four groups: economic factors, infrastructure, service delivery process, and monitoring and evaluation. Also, prevention strategies were classified into three groups including structural strategies, economic strategies and performance level solutions. Consequences of prescribing unnecessary services included two categories of individual and social factors. Paraclinical health services such as imaging and laboratory facilities were the most unnecessary services prescribed in this study.

Due to the existence of non-essential services in the Iranian health system, identifying these unnecessary services, factors affecting its prescription, prevention methods and consequences can prevent the loss of resources in the health system and impose costs on patients and families. Preventing unnecessary services in the health system will free up resources that can be spent on essential services that cannot be provided for reasons such as limited resources and access.