Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi, the Minister of Health, announced the launch of the Follow-up Nurse program in 64 counties during a family medicine meeting held at the Ministry of Health. This program is designed to monitor the health status of patients who return home after receiving medical services.
Reducing Unnecessary Visits to Medical Centers
The Minister of Health emphasized that in this program, a specific nurse will be assigned to each patient to monitor their health status through phone calls or telemedicine services. This initiative will help prevent repeated and unnecessary visits by patients to medical centers and will also reduce costs.
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Zafarghandi added: "This program assures patients that someone is continuously monitoring their health status and, if necessary, the patient will be directed to return to medical centers."
Focus on Health Literacy and Insurance Participation
The Minister of Health further emphasized the importance of improving health literacy and public education, especially in dealing with non-communicable diseases such as obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes. He called for serious participation from insurance organizations in this area and stated: "Insurers should allocate budget for health education and implement the resolution to allocate 5 percent of resources to this field."
Zafarghandi also stressed the necessity of the Ministry of Sports' participation in increasing physical activity and sports activities for children, stating: "Our children are facing a problem of physical inactivity, and we need to take the issue of health and increasing social capital seriously."
He noted the follow-ups conducted for the implementation of the family medicine program, emphasizing that this program should be carried out nationally and in cooperation with all relevant organizations. The Minister of Health welcomed the proposal by Mohammad Jafar Qaimpanah, the Executive Vice President, to form a working group consisting of related agencies, saying: "If payments at levels one to three of health services are made on time, the family medicine program will certainly progress more rapidly and successfully."
In conclusion, the Minister of Health emphasized the importance of establishing a systematic and respectful health service delivery system, stating: "Our goal is to ensure that people, especially those living in remote areas, can access health services."
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