Hossain A.Ronaghy - MD, MPH, Honorary Professor, Medicine University of California, San Diego, USA, and former Professor, Medicine and Community Medicine (retired), Shiraz University of Medical Sciences Shiraz, Iran

In the early ۱۹۷۰s, ۱۵% of all Iranian Medical Graduates (IMG) left Iran and migrated to the United States (۱, ۲), while ۵۰,۰۰۰ villages in Iran had no health coverage. The initiation of the Department of Community Medicine in shiraz Medical School was based on the gross misdistribution of health care facilities in Iran, when ۷۰% of population at the time was residing in rural communities and almost ۹۰% of all health facilities were concentrated in Tehran and large cities . The Main reason why shiraz University was among the first institutions in Iran initiating this endeavor was the fact that, at the time, up to ۹۰% of its medical graduates were deployed in Western countries, particularly the United States. Them demand of evolving communities necessitates this reform in the Institutional Objective to expand its mission for the neighborhood, city, province, or the entire country.

Family Medicine vs. Community Medicine