The Prevalence of Ta’zir Medical Offences before and after the Implementation of Healthcare Reform Program (2013-2016): The Case of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

There are different problem-solving courts for prosecuting medical offences due to the broadness of healthcare sector as well as the variety of offences in this sector. One of these courts in Iran is the Commission of Ta’zir Offences which prosecutes specific offences in this domain. Due to the implementation of National HealthCare Reform Program since the second half of May 2013, this study was carried out to compare the prevalence of Ta’zir medical offences in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences before and after the implementation of this program. This was an applied, cross-sectional study. The sample size of the study included all cases related to medical offences argued in the cases of Commission number 11 in the Department of Governmental Discretionary Punishment of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences during two periods: before(15/2/2012 -15/2/2013) and after the implementation of Healthcare Reform Program (15/2/2015-15/2/2016). A designed form was used to collect data in which the medical cases available in the Department of Governmental Discretionary Punishment were recorded. Data were analyzed, using descriptive and inferential statistics including Paired-Samples T-Test. SPSS version 16 was used to analyze the data and the significance level was considered 0.05. The results showed that the total number of Ta’zir medical offences was 169 before the Healthcare Reform Program and increased to 431 cases after the Healthcare Reform Program. Employment of medical and paramedical professionals who had no legal work permit before the implementation of Healthcare Reform Program was significantly (P<0.05( different from that after its implementation ) Mean:2.5- Std-Deviation: 3.28-P=0.02 (and also additional patient fees (Mean: 0.91- Std-Deviation: 19.56-P=0.02). It is recommended that the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education should increase monitoring the physicians’ performance after the implementation of Healthcare Reform Program to prevent the violations of patients’ rights.