Activists in the field of digital health: the action of social security is illegal and against the direction of the country’s health governance

Two days earlier, the Social Security Administration had ordered laboratories to stop cooperating with e-health platforms or face fines. Now, it seems that this stance has become more intense towards digital health platforms and no more services from them will be subject to social security obligations.

Just as the previous action of social security regarding the cooperation of laboratories with electronic health platforms was objected by the activists of this field, the center of e-commerce development, the Nasr Organization of Tehran and the e-commerce association of Tehran, and they demanded to solve this problem in letters to the relevant authorities. They criticized this new decision of the Social Security Organization and considered it an illegal action.

Zhubin Alagband, a member of the Tehran Electronic Commerce Association, also criticizes this practice in an interview with Zomit and says:

In a situation where everyone in the country is looking to increase the share of the digital economy in the entire economy and GDP of the country, and online platforms in the field of health with online visits, consultations and tests make people’s lives easier, this work of the social security organization is completely illegal and against the general direction of the country. . These measures both affect the country’s startup and innovation ecosystem and deprive people of comfort.

Mehdi Khodadadi, a member of the board of directors and head of the Digital Health Commission of the Computer Trade Union Organization, also called this action “completely illegal” and explains it like this:

This action is completely illegal. Social Security has no legal standing to do this, nor is it mandated to legislate. I hope there are some lawyers in the social security organization who know that this organization is not allowed to legislate and regulate. In the sixth development plan, approved by the Council of Ministers, it is ordered that the services related to the electronic version should be started. This has happened and the field of digital health has provided various services to people, insurance friends are only hindering this process with strange arguments.

According to him, the argument of the organization is that before these platforms did not exist, it was more difficult for people to go to the doctor, buy medicine, and go through the treatment process, for this reason, they were less likely to seek medicine and treatment, but now with the ease of these processes through platforms The number of their referrals is higher online, and this issue has become costly for the social security organization.

Khodadadi says about this argument: “The question is whether social security is willing to risk people’s health but pay less?” The more proactively people come to the health field, undergo screening, tests, visits, etc., the lower the cost of their treatment. That’s why we say prevention is better than cure.”

Alagband also mentioned the same issue and says that apparently the Social Security Organization is not very satisfied with this easy access of people to medical services. According to him, this organization is “worried that with more and easier access of people to services, their costs will increase.”

This member of the Tehran E-commerce Association adds that this organization has made excuses about this issue: “They say that authentication is not done properly on these platforms, which I think is completely wrong because all these platforms do authentication.” The fan also adds:

They have announced that they do not recognize online visits, which in my opinion is completely illegal because online visits are fully recognized in the country, its rules have been compiled according to the order of the Council of Ministers in the Digital Economy Working Group, and the social security itself has an electronic version. offers but says the electronic version does not cover other platforms.

Khodadadi also believes that “health governance in the country is going in a certain direction, the platforms are also moving in the same direction, social security as an insurance institution only has to finance and pay the prescriptions.”

He goes on to explain that this action and decision was made by one of the offices for handling financial statements of Tehran province and expressed his hope that “this matter is not a decision and procedure of social security and it is just an arbitrary intervention and mistake of a person. But if this is the general approach of the organization, the only possibility that seems to me is that the managers of the organization want to create dissatisfaction so that the new government will be challenged.” Khodadadi also believes that if the announced decision is not the general approach of the organization, social security is expected to deal with the wrong person very decisively.

As a member of the Tehran Electronic Commerce Association, Zhubin Alagband also believes that this arbitrariness of the social security organization should be dealt with.