Urgent Crisis: One-Third of Iran’s General Practitioners Abandon Medicine, Threatening Healthcare System Collapse

The healthcare crisis in Iran has reached a critical juncture, driven by mounting economic pressure, mismanagement, and an alarming trend of mass migration among medical professionals. Recent revelations from the head of Iran’s Association of General Practitioners highlight that nearly one-third of general practitioners have effectively left their medical practices, exacerbating an already dire situation.

According to the association, over 30,000 general practitioners (GPs) have either migrated abroad, switched careers, or ventured into unrelated fields such as beauty product sales or methadone distribution. This mass exodus is attributed to a combination of destructive policies, high taxation, suppressed tariffs, and the overwhelming economic, political, and social crises plaguing the country.

Hospitals Struggling Amid Critical Staffing Shortages

The acknowledgment of this crisis comes as hospitals across Iran grapple with severe shortages of doctors and nurses. Emergency wards and inpatient units are overwhelmed, yet officials loyal to the regime continue to dismiss the situation as merely “media exaggeration.”

Ahmad Valipour, the head of the Association of General Practitioners, shed light on the heart of the crisis, stating:

“Medical tariffs have been suppressed for years. The cost of renting an office, equipment, staff, and taxes is so high that with a 100,000 or 150,000-toman visit fee, running a clinic is nearly impossible.”

He further explained that many general practitioners are shutting down their practices due to unfair competition from low-cost state-owned clinics. The economic landscape is distorted, as evidenced by the official statistics indicating that in some private hospitals, childbirth costs can soar to 350 million tomans, with physicians receiving less than 10% of that amount. This disparity has resulted in:

• Under-the-table payments
• Widespread patient dissatisfaction
• Frustration among medical professionals

Decades of Mismanagement Taking Their Toll

Experts attribute Iran’s healthcare disaster to decades of mismanagement and poor policy decisions made by unqualified officials. Valipour cautioned that these interventions have led to:

• Distrust within the medical community
• Exhaustion among healthcare workers
• Discouragement among new medical graduates

The growing disparity between the actual cost of healthcare services and the meager compensation received by doctors has further driven migration. Valipour noted the punishing workload faced by young doctors, which includes:

1. Four years of residency
2. Two years of mandatory service

This grueling schedule, coupled with minimal pay, is pushing many away from the profession. Valipour’s observations echo concerns raised by Shahin Akhoundzadeh, the deputy minister for research in the Ministry of Health, who recently acknowledged that many of the top 100 medical students leave the country after graduation due to the unappealing conditions.

Specialists Leaving and Surgeries Delayed

The trend of migration is not limited to general practitioners; specialists are also leaving the country in droves. The Iranian Medical Council has consistently warned about critical shortages in various specialties, including:

• Pediatric cardiologists
• Neurosurgeons
• Anesthesiology specialists

In referral hospitals, such as the esteemed Rajaei Heart Center, surgical waiting lists are already booked until late 2026 or even 2027.

Nursing Sector in a Dire State

While physicians face challenges, the nursing sector appears to be in an even worse condition. Iran is currently short of at least 100,000 nurses, with the nurse-to-patient ratio plummeting to 0.6, significantly below the global standard of 1.8.

A nurse working in Tehran shared:

“I earn 16 million tomans a month, but fixing two decayed teeth costs me 18 million. The workload is unbearable, the 24-hour shifts are exhausting, and half of my colleagues are considering migration.”

Official data reveals that approximately 19 doctors and nurses leave Iran every day, as European and Gulf countries eagerly seek to recruit Iranian medical professionals.

Migrating to the Methadone Market

An alarming trend is the shift of thousands of medical practitioners into Iran’s lucrative methadone market. A child and adolescent psychiatrist noted that 9,000 physicians have pivoted to methadone distribution rather than providing medical care, positioning Iran as the world’s second-largest consumer and producer of methadone, following the United States. The psychiatrist stated:

“When a healthcare system collapses, doctors stop healing and start selling whatever is profitable—and methadone brings far more revenue than medical practice.”

A System on the Brink

Iran’s healthcare system is on the verge of collapse, burdened by:

• Chronic drug shortages
• Declining quality of medical education
• Increasing violence against medical staff
• Severe delays in payments to healthcare workers
• Decreasing motivation among medical students
• Critical shortages of on-call physicians, anesthesiologists, surgeons, and nurses

Many hospital departments are now operating at half capacity, leading to emergency rooms overflowing with patients, some of whom wait hours—sometimes days—for basic evaluation. The crisis in Iran’s healthcare system is a multifaceted issue requiring urgent attention and comprehensive reforms.