A Competition Law and Medical Ethics Analysis of the Medical Discipline in Iran

Abstract—: From a legal perspective, competition can be disrupted through various mechanisms including conspiracy, individual actions, interlocutory management, and corporate mergers or acquisitions. In the context of the Iranian medical guild's operations, numerous instances potentially constitute competition disruption, including price fixing, market division, supply limitations, third-party referrals, supplementary undertakings, and various individual anticompetitive actions such as compulsory sales, misleading statements, non-standard service provision, and dominant position abuse. This research identifies a significant power imbalance between medical service providers and consumers. The analysis demonstrates that coordinated activities between the medical disciplinary organisation, Ministry of Health, medical sciences universities, insurance companies, and related entities have resulted in the medical profession occupying a position of economic dominance that transcends standard regulatory frameworks. The medical guild's self-regulatory authority represents a significant deviation from standard competition principles. To address these competition issues, restructuring of regulatory oversight through dissolution of the current self-regulatory framework and realignment with standard guild disciplinary mechanisms is proposed.