Kerman University of Medical Sciences International Journal of Health Policy and Management 2322-5939 7 1 2018 01 01 Recent Iranian Health System Reform: An Operational Perspective to Improve Health Services Quality 70 74 3397 10.15171/ijhpm.2017.89 EN Mahdi Mahdavi Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran Mahboubeh Parsaeian Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran Ebrahim Jaafaripooyan Department of Health Management & Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran Shahram Ghaffari Social Security Research Institute, Tehran, Iran Journal Article 2016 12 23 The operational management of healthcare services is expected to directly touch patient experiences. Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MoHME) for the first time, as such, has sought to improve the operational management of healthcare delivery within a reform agenda by setting benchmarks for ‘number of visit per hour’ and waiting time in outpatient clinics of about 700 affiliated hospitals. As a new initiative, it has faced with mixed reactions and various doubts have been cast on its successful implementation. This manuscript aims to shed some light on the operational challenges of the initiative and the requirements of its successful implementation. https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3397_d858ccf1961f7b68ec1a264fa7a7f406.pdf