Upstream Documents and Laws

Please refer to the image.

Main Objectives:

1. Integration into the Health System:

• Establishing a referral network for Persian Medicine

• Insurance coverage for services

• Determining a 2% share in health and 1.5% share in treatment

2. Strengthening the Position of the Association:

• Communication with decision-making bodies

• International collaborations

• Creating a database of specialists

3. Support for Specialists:

• Improving financial and scientific status

• Standardization of education

• Preventing the activities of non-specialists

4. Research:

• Producing scientific evidence

• Supporting applied research

• Allocating 5% of research funds

5. Public Education:

• Inclusion in school textbooks

• Production of educational content

• Collaboration with media

Expected Results:

• Easy access to reliable services

• Scientific advancement of Traditional Medicine

• Prevention of unscientific activities

The complete file of the Strategic Plan is available for download at the bottom of this page (below the dashed line).

Article 1:
The Scientific Association shall have Permanent, Associate, Honorary, and Student members as described below.

1-1. Permanent Membership:
a) Founding members of the Scientific Association.
b) Holders of a PhD degree in Traditional Persian Medicine, Traditional Pharmacy, and History of Medicine.
c) PhD students in the fields of Traditional Persian Medicine, Traditional Pharmacy, and History of Medicine studying at universities within the country, after passing the comprehensive examination.
d) Clinical specialists and holders of PhD degrees in medical and non-medical sciences who have a minimum of 3 years of experience in the field of Traditional or Traditional Pharmacy, upon presenting evidence of educational, research, or therapeutic activities in the field of Traditional Persian Medicine, subject to the discretion of the Central Board of Directors of the Scientific Association.

Note 1: Academic degrees of graduates from foreign universities must be approved by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education or the Ministry of Science.

Note 2: Permanent members must possess the conditions for founding members and board members stipulated in Article 7 of the Bylaws on the Formation and Duties of the Commission on Scientific Associations of the Medical Group.
(The Bylaws on the Formation and Duties of the Commission, subject of Article 4 of the Resolution of the 262nd session of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution: Article 7 – Founding members and board members must have the following conditions:
1/7: Iranian citizenship - 2/7: Commitment to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran - 3/7: No criminal record, no effective role in consolidating the former regime, and no affiliation with parties or groups hostile to the system - 4/7: Possessing an appropriate level of education and scientific, technical, literary, or artistic experience, as determined by the relevant Commission.)

2-1. Associate Membership:
a) PhD students in the fields of Traditional Medicine, Traditional Pharmacy, and History of Medicine from the start of their studies until the comprehensive examination.
b) Individuals holding a doctorate in one of the fields of General Medicine, Pharmacy, or Dentistry.
c) Individuals holding at least a Master's degree in one of the fields of Medical Sciences, Basic Sciences, History, Philosophy, Arabic Literature, or Botany.
d) Individuals with sufficient experience, background, and knowledge in the texts or application of Traditional Persian Medicine, subject to the approval of the Central Board of Directors of the Scientific Association.

3-1. Honorary Membership:
Iranian and foreign personalities whose scientific, cultural, and social standing is of particular importance, or who have made an effective and valuable contribution to advancing the goals of the Scientific Association, may be accepted as Honorary Members.

4-1. Student Membership:
Students in the fields mentioned in clauses "b" and "c" of Associate Membership.

Note 3: Clauses "b" and "c" of Associate Membership and Student Membership in clause "a" are conditional upon completing an introductory course on the fundamentals of Traditional Persian Medicine.

Note 4: Associate Members, upon fulfilling the conditions and approval of the Central Board of Directors of the Scientific Association, may be elected to Permanent Membership.

Note 5: The criterion for the number of Permanent Members of the Scientific Association shall be the number registered in the same year. Therefore, individuals are eligible to participate in Board of Directors elections if they have paid the approved membership fee for that year and have received a ballot to attend the General Assembly election meeting.

Article 2:
Each member shall pay an annual membership fee, the amount of which shall be determined based on the provisions of the Constitution (to be set by the Board of Directors and approved by the General Assembly).

Note 6: Payment of the membership fee does not create any right or claim to the assets of the Scientific Association for the member.

Note 7: Membership fees for members are as follows:

• Permanent Members: 100% of the determined amount.

• Associate and Student Members: 50% of the determined amount.

• Honorary Members: Exempt.

Article 3:
Membership shall terminate in any of the following cases:
1/3: Written resignation of the member.
2/3: Non-payment of the annual membership fee.
3/3: Loss of one of the membership conditions.
4/3: Final conviction by the Preliminary and Supreme Disciplinary Boards of the Medical Council Organization (meaning temporary or permanent disqualification from practicing the medical profession).

Note 8: The period of membership suspension shall be equivalent to the period of disqualification from practicing the medical profession.

Note 9: The final decision regarding non-acceptance or termination of membership shall rest with the Board of Directors, after notification and approval by the Supervisory Board on the Performance of Scientific Associations (based on the subject of Clause 7, Article 7 of the Bylaws on the Formation and Duties of the Commission).

This Bylaw, consisting of 3 Articles and 9 Notes, was approved by the Board of Directors of the Scientific Association of Traditional Persian Medicine (Fifth Term) on January 22, 2022, and will replace previous internal membership bylaws. It is understood that any amendments or changes to this Bylaw can only be made by the Central Board of Directors of the Scientific Association in Tehran.

Regulation on the Scope of Practice for Medical Graduates in the Specialized Field of Persian Medicine was communicated by Dr. Seyed Hassan Emami Razavi, Advisor and Secretary of the Supreme Council for Medical Sciences Planning, to the Deputy Minister of Education of the Ministry of Health.

The original file can be downloaded in the section below.

World Health Organization Traditional Medicine Strategy: 2014-2023 (Summary)

The World Health Organization's strategy on traditional medicines for 2014-2023, designed to support member states, includes the following:

• Harnessing the potential of traditional and complementary medicine to improve health systems, people-centered healthcare, and universal health coverage.

• Promoting the safe and effective use of traditional and complementary medicine practices, approaches, and practitioner oversight through the development of regulations.

• Conducting research and facilitating appropriate integration into national health systems. This strategy is developed to assist countries in how to enhance health levels with the help of traditional and complementary medicine and to protect consumers of these services.

This initiative involves two fundamental steps:

a) Member states should define and develop a better understanding of the status of traditional and complementary medicine within their own countries. This requires identifying the types of approaches used and the groups of clients, examining their reasons for using these services, and determining future needs and requirements related to traditional and complementary medicine products, practices, and practitioners.

b) Member states should, by reflecting on their national situation and conditions, develop policies, regulations, and guidelines relevant to the types of traditional and complementary medicine that are needed and chosen by their people. Although there may be common issues and priorities among member states, each country's national approaches will be developed to address the needs of its own population. It is clear that these regulations are based on existing legal frameworks, cultural beliefs about traditional and complementary medicine, and aim to establish regulatory structures for products, practices, and practitioner performance.

To take the above two steps, member states should organize their activities to achieve three strategic objectives:

1. Building a knowledge base for the active management of traditional and complementary medicine through appropriate national policies.

2. Strengthening quality assurance, safety, proper use, and effectiveness of traditional and complementary medicine by regulating products, practices, and practitioners.

3. Promoting universal health coverage by appropriately integrating traditional and complementary medicine services into healthcare systems.

The complete strategy (in English) can be downloaded from the section below.

In a part of this document, the specialized field of Traditional Medicine has been placed among the priority areas of science and technology in the country's health system.

The complete document can be downloaded from the section below.

Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in implementation of Clause 1 of Principle 110 of the Constitution, communicated the general policies of "Health," which were determined after consultation with the Expediency Discernment Council. Clause 12 of these policies pertains to Traditional Persian Medicine.

The text of the general health policies, communicated to the heads of the three branches of government and the head of the Expediency Discernment Council, is as follows:

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

General Health Policies

1. Providing educational, research, health, treatment, and rehabilitation services based on human-Islamic principles and values and institutionalizing them in society.
1-1. Enhancing the system for selecting, evaluating, and educating professors, students, and managers, and transforming academic and university environments in accordance with Islamic values, medical ethics, and professional etiquette.
2-1. Raising public awareness of their rights and social responsibilities and utilizing the capacity of healthcare provision environments for the growth of spirituality and Islamic ethics in society.

2. Realizing a comprehensive health approach and a healthy human in all laws, executive policies, and regulations, observing:
1-2. Priority of prevention over treatment.
2-2. Updating health and treatment programs.
3-2. Reducing health-threatening risks and pollutions based on valid scientific evidence.
4-2. Preparing a health annex for major development plans.
5-2. Improving health indicators to achieve the first position in the Southwest Asian region.
6-2. Reforming and completing monitoring, supervision, and evaluation systems for the lawful protection of the rights of people and patients and the proper implementation of general policies.

3. Enhancing the mental health of society by promoting the Islamic-Iranian lifestyle, strengthening the family foundation, removing stress-inducing obstacles in individual and social life, promoting ethical and spiritual education, and improving mental health indicators.

4. Establishing and strengthening the necessary infrastructure for the production of pharmaceutical products and raw materials, vaccines, biological products, and medical supplies and equipment with international quality and standards.

5. Organizing demand and preventing induced demand, permitting prescription only based on the referral system and clinical guidelines, the generic scheme, and the national drug system, and efficient policy-making and supervision over the production, consumption, and import of medicines, vaccines, biological products, and medical equipment with the aim of supporting domestic production and developing exports.

6. Ensuring food security and equitable access for all members of society to a healthy, desirable, and sufficient food basket, clean air and water, public sports facilities, and safe health products while observing national standards and regional and global criteria.

7. Separating the duties of trusteeship, financing, and procurement of services in the health sector with the aim of accountability, achieving justice, and providing desirable treatment services to the people as follows:
1-7. Trusteeship of the health system, including executive policy-making, strategic planning, evaluation, and supervision, by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education.
2-7. Management of health resources through the insurance system, centered on the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, with the cooperation of other centers and institutions.
3-7. Procurement of services by service providers in the public, general, and private sectors.
4-7. Coordination and organization of the above affairs according to the mechanism that the law will determine.

8. Increasing and improving the quality and safety of comprehensive and integrated health services and care, centered on justice and emphasizing accountability, transparent information dissemination, effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity within the framework of the health and treatment network, consistent with the referral and leveling system, through:
1-8. Promoting decision-making and action based on solid scientific findings in health care, education, and services by developing standards and guidelines, evaluating health technologies, establishing a leveling system prioritizing health promotion and prevention services, and integrating them into the medical education system.
2-8. Increasing the quality and safety of health services and care by establishing and promoting a clinical governance system and setting standards.
3-8. Developing a comprehensive care and support program for veterans and the disabled population of the country with the aim of improving their health and empowering them.

9. Quantitative and qualitative development of health and treatment insurance with the aim of:
1-9. Universalizing basic treatment insurance.
2-9. Full coverage of basic treatment needs by insurances for all members of society and reducing the share of people from treatment costs so that the patient has no worry or suffering other than the illness itself.
3-9. Providing services beyond basic insurance through complementary insurance within the framework of legal and transparent guidelines, in a way that the quality of basic treatment service provision always possesses the necessary desirability.
4-9. Determining a comprehensive health and treatment services package at the level of basic and complementary insurances by the Ministry of Health and Treatment, their purchase by the insurance system, and effective supervisory oversight over the precise implementation of the packages by eliminating redundant procedures and unnecessary costs in the cycle from examination and diagnosis to treatment.
5-9. Strengthening the competitive market for providing health insurance services.
6-9. Developing evidence-based tariffs for health services and care based on added value with equal real technical fees for the public and private sectors.
7-9. Reforming the payment system based on performance quality, increasing efficiency, creating fair income, encouraging positive incentives for service providers, and paying special attention to health promotion and prevention activities in deprived areas.

10. Ensuring sustainable financial resources in the health sector with an emphasis on:
1-10. Lawful transparency of incomes, expenses, and activities.
2-10. Increasing the share of health, commensurate with improving the quality of health and treatment service provision, from the gross domestic product and the general government budget in a way that is higher than the regional average and achieves the goals of the Vision Document.
3-10. Levying duties on health-damaging products, materials, and services.
4-10. Paying subsidies to the health sector and targeting health and treatment subsidies with the aim of ensuring justice and promoting health, especially in underprivileged areas, and providing specific assistance to needy groups and lower income deciles.

11. Increasing awareness, responsibility, capability, and structured and active participation of individuals, families, and society in securing, maintaining, and promoting health, utilizing the capacity of cultural, educational, and media institutions and organizations of the country under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education.

12. Recognition, explanation, promotion, development, and institutionalization of Traditional Persian Medicine.
1-12. Promoting the cultivation of medicinal plants under the supervision of the Ministry of Agricultural Jihad, and supporting the development of scientific and technical innovations in the production and supply of traditional pharmaceutical products under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education.
2-12. Standardizing and updating the diagnostic and therapeutic methods of Traditional Medicine and related products.
3-12. Exchanging experiences with other countries in the field of Traditional Medicine.
4-12. Supervision of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education over the provision of Traditional Medicine services and herbal medicines.
5-12. Establishing rational interaction and exchange between Traditional Medicine and modern medicine for the synergy of experiences and therapeutic methods.
6-12. Reforming lifestyle in the realm of nutrition.

13. Qualitative and quantitative development of the medical education system in a targeted, health-oriented manner, based on societal needs, accountable, and equitable, and by training efficient human resources committed to professional Islamic ethics and possessing skills and competencies appropriate to the needs of different regions of the country.

14. Strategic transformation of medical sciences research with an innovation system approach and planning to achieve scientific authority in sciences, techniques, and medical service provision, and transforming Iran into a medical hub in the Southwest Asian region and the Islamic world.