Epidemiological Profile and Geographical Distribution of Medical Laboratories in Mashhad, Iran

To make a balanced health system and an integrated urban system, control of the geographical distribution of medical workplaces in each city is one of the undeniable principles. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and distribution of medical laboratories in 13 urban districts of Mashhad city.
In this study, the absolute and relative distributions of medical laboratories in urban areas of Mashhad city were studied. Geographical location, type of the activity and the ownership of medical laboratories were extracted from Mashhad Medical Council database (up to the end of 2015). The data related to geographical districts and demographic features were obtained from reports issued by the Municipality of Mashhad.
By the end of 2015 in Mashhad city, 153 laboratories were active. Medical laboratory percent regarding to their fields were 51/6% clinical pathology laboratories, 45/8% anatomoclinical laboratories, and the rest of were anatomical pathology laboratories. The frequency of medical laboratories based on ownership was as follows: 32/7% clinical laboratories, 47/7% private laboratories and 19/6% hospital laboratories. Considering the zoning of the city of Mashhad, the largest number of medical laboratories was in districts one (38), eight (23), two (20) and the lowest number of medical laboratories were in the district 12 with one laboratory. The number of medical laboratories to 10,000 people in urban districts of Mashhad city were 0/6 that was the highest rate in districts 1, 8, Samen and the lowest one in districts 3, 5, 6 and 12.
Planning for the fair distribution of diagnostic and treatment services is one of the main objections of health care poly makers. Therefore, the implementation of guidance policies by responsible institutions such as Ministry of health, medical association and organizations will help to distribute medical workers equally.