a comparative study of supplementary healthcare services packages in selected countries and presenting a model for iran

introduction: supplementary health care services are provided to offer health care services beyond existing medical services at a reasonable cost to all members. these supplementary health care services contribute to the health and quality of life of the members and therefore membership provides peace of mind and a sense of security. this study aimed at investigating supplementary health care services packages in selected countries and presenting a model for iran. methods: it is a comparative study which was carried out from 1382 to 1383. the countries to be studied were selected based on garden division model and delphi technique was used to present a model for iran. to collect data, a questionnaire was used. its validity was approved by experts and test-retest was used to confirm its reliability. results: the main factor that made people use supplementary health care services was that public health care services do not cover all aspects of health care (89%). among the organizations responsible for insurance, supreme health council was assigned in charge of approving supplementary health care services (78%). a decentralized organizational structure was proposed executively for supplementary health care systems while they were suggested to be centralized in policy – making and planning (92.5%). conclusion: developing a kind of competition between public and private supplementary health care services may have an important role in enhancing the quality of health care services and improving the consumers' satisfaction.