TEHRAN — For the first time in Iran, family medicine will be recognized as a specialty by February 2016, said the Iranian deputy health minister.

“Soon an exam will be held to choose among the suitably qualified students to further their medical education in family medicine,” Baqer Larijani told the IRNA news agency on Saturday.

“At this phase only 70 students will be admitted as we have no intention to rush into anything and we want to see how it will work out,” Larijani noted.

He explained that “additionally we have dispatched some experts to other countries that have already had the specialty to collect information on the matter and to guide us to make a tactful decision for any further development.”

Family doctor scheme was proposed in the fifth five-year development plan (2016-2021). Based on this program, a doctor will be in charge of healthcare of a group of people and will keep close tabs on them in case of a health crisis.

Family medicine is a medical specialty devoted to comprehensive healthcare for people of all ages. The specialist is named a family physician or family doctor. It provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family across all ages, genders, diseases, and parts of the body. It emphasizes on the disease prevention and health promotion.

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