Main Factors Leading to Supplier-Induced Demand in Iran: A Comprehensive Review

Supplier-induced demand (SID) is one of the challenges of health systems, leading to unbearable expenses, particularly for people.

The present study aimed to investigate the factors leading to SID in Iran.
Data Sources: The present study is a comprehensive systematic review focusing on studies of SID up to the end of May 2018 in six English databases, five Persian databases, and two search engines. The exclusion criteria were publications in languages other than Persian and English and publications after May 2018.
Data Extraction: A data extraction form was used to record authors' names and specifications, year of publication, the city of the study, language, purpose, methodology, data collection method, and factors influencing the induced demand. The risk of bias was assessed using a standard risk of bias tool.

We found 514 papers. Eventually, 16 papers met the inclusion criteria, and they were selected for the study. We found 11 papers in the Persian language and five articles in English. The design of 37.5% of the articles was qualitative, 31.25% analytical, 25% descriptive-analytical, and 6.25% descriptive. Factors influencing SID were classified at four levels including meta-level (Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MoHME)), macro-level (universities of Medical Sciences), meso-level (service providers), and micro-level (patients).

According to the results of this research, creating SID can lead to serious challenges for health systems, service providers, patients, and insurance organizations. Therefore, health managers and policymakers need to design appropriate strategies such as adopting the evidence-based approach to purchasing services by the insurer and approval of standards and rules to reduce such SID.