BRIEF INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE MEDICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL FIELD IN IRAN MODERN MEDICINE AND PHARMACY IN IRAN: A BRIEF HISTORY AMBASSADORS: MINA JABBARI, FATEME AKHAVAN, YOUNES VAEZPOUR IPHSA,IRAN The pharmaceutical industry in Iran began in its modern form in 1920 when the Pasteur Institute of Iran was founded (1). In the field of drug production, Iran follows both USA guidelines and its own guidelines, which leads to the production of high quality and safe products. Iran has boosted scientific production in nanotechnology, biotechnology, biomedical engineering, bioengineering, biomaterials, and biophysics. For instance, the rankings of Iran were fourth in nanotech, 12th in biomedical engineering, ninth in bioengineering, and eighth in biomaterials in 2017 (2). Iran is the first country in the East Mediterranean region that has the technical and scientific capability to export vaccines to various world countries (3). In addition to the above, health, medical and pharmaceutical services in Iran are relatively well developed, and training doctors, pharmacists, and medical staffs who can serve the people of the country has always been one of the priorities. According to the ministry, 100% of urban and 98% of rural areas in Iran now have access to at least primary medical services (2). Health inequality as an important Pharmacy Profession issue Health care is recognized as a fundamental right in most countries (4). Pharmacists are an essential part of the healthcare system. The primary task of pharmacists is to monitor and ensure the medicine dispensing accuracy to patients as well as to provide pharmaceutical consultations to other clinical professions. Pharmacist collaboration and alignment with other healthcare professionals are expected to increase the productivity and optimal utilisation of health care services (5). inflation rate and medical tariffs resulted in the majority of people not considering their health at the top of their priority list. So, the equal distribution of pharmacists in the country can help reduce drug-related morbidity and mortality, decrease the cost of services, and increase patient satisfaction (6). The role of the pharmaceutical industries is providing the needs of the community by drugs with high quality, and suitable price (7). Some medicines are not currently manufactured domestically in Iran as their production is not economically justifiable because of low consumption. Financial and banking sanctions have limited the life-saving medicine trade, which harshly targeted the patients suffering from rare diseases (8). Which Group of the population is most affected by health inequality? Because economic problems and people's incomes directly affect health inequality, patients are one of the main victims of this issue. In fact, income inequality leads to inefficiency and the spread of injustice in the health sector. Population concentration in large cities can affect this issue both directly and indirectly. Economic sanctions have also had a significant impact in recent years. With the shortage of some drugs and medical equipment in Iran, physicians and pharmacists are faced with more restrictions on treatments.
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