Instances of Conflict of Interest in iran's Health system

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Department of Management, Faculty of Management & Economics, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Graduate School of Management & Economics, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

This study investigates instances of conflict of interest in some job positions in Iran’s Ministry of Health, Treatment, &Medical Education. To do so, we interviewed people involved in the health field &reviewed the job descriptions. We have identified instances of conflict of interests in each position by adopting the prevailing definition of conflict of interests regarding the duties, authorities, &responsibilities. The results show that the main reasons for cases of conflict of interests &possible resulting corruption fall into three categories. First, the duties of positions are such that being a shareholder, CEO, &member of the board of directors of related private business corporations or institutions can cause a conflict of interests. The presence of stakeholders in the health governance system, such as doctors, is another source of conflict of interest. Finally, the conflict can occur due to structural defects such as supervisor &supervision integration or policy makers &performers.

Keywords


  1. Baki Hashemi, Seyed Mohammad Mahdi, Ebrahimi, Seyed Abbas, Farhadinejad, Mohsen, Yazdizadeh, Bahare. (2021). Management of policy conflict in the policy making process of Iran's health system; Elements, works &solutions. Public Policy Quarterly 7(3), 77-98 [in Persian].
  2. Bouzarjomehri, Hossein. (2015). The challenge of information asymmetry in the health system. Retrieved on July 28, 2018 [in Persian].
  3. Everett, Jeff, Dean Neu, Abu Shiraz Rahaman. (2007) "Accounting &the global fight against corruption." Accounting, Organizations &Society 32.6: 513-542.
  4. Fooks, Gary Jonas. (2017) "Controlling corporate influence in health policy making? An assessment of the implementation of article 5.3 of the World Health Organization framework convention on tobacco control." Globalization &health 13.1: 1-20.
  5. Gupta, Aron, Holla, Radha, & Suri, Shoba. (2015). Conflict of interest in public health: should there be a law to prevent it? Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, 12(3), 172-177.
  6. Jodaki, Hossein. (2017). Identifying possible corruptions in the health system. Tehran, Higher Institute of Social Security Research. First Edition [in Persian].
  7. Khongmalai, Orapan, John CS Tang, Sununta Siengthai. (2010) "Empirical evidence of corporate governance in Thai state‐owned enterprises." Corporate Governance: The international journal of business in society.
  8. Law on Organizations &Duties of the Ministry of Health, Treatment &Medical Education. (1989). Retrieved on January 27, 2016 [in Persian].
  9. Luebke, Neil. (1987). Conflict Of Interest as a Moral Category. Business & Professional Ethics Journal, 6(1), 66-81.
  10. Malone, Ruth E., Stella Aguinaga Bialous. (2014) "WHO FCTC article 5.3: promise but little progress." Tobacco control 23.4: 279-280.
  11. Martin, Will. (2017). The 16 countries with the world's best healthcare systems.
  12. McCoy M, Carniol M, Chockley K. (2017) "Conflicts of interest for patient-advocacy organizations." N Engl J Med.; 376:880–5.
  13. Omidi, Reza. (2017). The need to adjust the position of doctors in the field of social policy. Retrieved on November 19, 2017 [in Persian].
  14. Organization for Economic Co-operation &Development. (2003). Managing Conflict of Interest in the Public Service: OECD GUIDELINES &COUNTRY EXPERIENCES.
  15. Organization for Economic Co-operation &Development. (2005). Managing Conflict of Interest in the Public sector: A Toolkit.
  16. Parhizkari, Abbas, &Rezghi, Abulfazl. (2016 A). Conflict of interest 1. Classification &conceptualization. Retrieved on November 19, 2017 [in Persian].
  17. Parhizkari, Abbas, &Rizki, Rezghi. (2016 b). Conflict of interest 2. Prevention &management strategies. Retrieved on March 15, 2017 [in Persian].
  18. Rajaei, Soheila. (2019). Conflict of interest as a serious damage in the health system. Strategic Studies of Public Policy, 9(30), 335-340 [in Persian].
  19. Sanaie, Mehdi. (2015). What is the conflict of interest &how to deal with it? The EU experience. Retrieved on November 19, 2017 [in Persian].
  20. Sanaie, Mehdi. (2017). Presentation of conflict of interest. Retrieved on November 19, 2017 [in Persian].
  21. Shakuri, Parvane. (2017). Investigation of the problem of conflict of interest in the Ministry of Health. Retrieved on November 19, 2017 [in Persian].
  22. Sommersguter-Reichmann, Margit. (2018) "Individual &institutional corruption in European &US healthcare: overview &link of various corruption typologies." Applied Health Economics &Health Policy 16.3: 289-302.
  23. The draft of the conflict of interest management bill is published for public comments. (2017). Retrieved on January 14, 2017 [in Persian].
  24. Thomas, Adèle. (2012) "Governance at South African state‐owned enterprises: what do annual reports &the print media tell us?" Social Responsibility Journal.
  25. Transparency International (2005). Corruption Perceptions Index.
  26. Transparency International. (2009). What is a ‘Conflict of Interest’?
  27. Vian, Taryn. (2020) "Anti-corruption, transparency &accountability in health: concepts, frameworks, &approaches." Global health action 13.sup1: 1694744.
  28. West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. (2008). conflict of interest.
  29. World Health Organization. Universal health coverage (UHC). Geneva: World Health Organization; 2019 Oct 26.