Equity in Geographical Distribution of Medical Specialists in Iran

Fair distribution of healthcare personnel improves the society healthcare indicators. The aim of this study was to investigate the geographical distribution of medical specialists, based on their field of specialty, in Iran.
The present research was a descriptive and cross- sectional study. Data related to the country population and the number of medical specialists working in hospitals affiliated to the Ministry of Health and Medical Education in each province were gathered from the reports of 2011 national census population and housing performed by Iran national statistics center. Data was analyzed through Excel software. Lorenz curve was drawn and Gini index was calculated.
There were 21.45 medical specialists per 100,000 population in Iran in 2011. Semnan had the highest (40.23) and North Khorasan had the lowest (11.7) medical specialists in the country. Gini index for medical specialists was calculated as 0.043. The greatest Gini index was observed for Neuropsychologists (0.080) and the smallest was seen for dermatologists (0.001).
Although the ratio of medical specialists to the population differed in provinces of Iran, medical specialists were distributed fairly among provinces. It is recommended that in addition to distribution equity, policy makers pay more attention to the population medical needs in each region.