Founder Journey: Gholamreza Habibi

Gifted and Talented School Entrance Exam Acceptance: September 1986
University Entrance Exam Acceptance (Medicine): September 1993, ranked 104 out of 300,000 participants
Unofficial Start of Institute Activities: September 11, 2001
Graduation as General Practitioner: July 2002
Best National and Tehran Province Entrepreneur: July 2011
MBA and DBA Degrees (First Rank at Tehran University): April 2016

Please Kindly review the full version of the founder’s journey here:

https://activita.me/founder-journey-gholamreza-habibi/

Our first steps in the field of information technology began in 2008 with the launch of electronic training, particularly in health education. Until that time, we had mainly been active in health research and education, and we had achieved significant accomplishments that provided the foundation for financing the establishment of an electronic education system.

In health research, publishing over 500 articles in international medical journals and entering into over 3,000 research contracts with universities, research centers, and medical faculty members was a remarkable achievement. Farzan managed to publish articles in the best medical journals worldwide with double-digit impact factors (IFs).

We also received research grants from domestic and international organizations, including from the United States (sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation). The most reputable pharmaceutical and research companies in Europe and the United States, such as Sanofi, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Merck, and Roche, along with clinical research organizations (CROs) from four continents, entered into cooperation agreements with us.

By that time, hundreds of people had participated in Farzan’s face-to-face training courses, and there were many requests from various provinces to participate in the courses. Therefore, we decided to launch online (E-Learning) courses so that interested individuals in different parts of the country could access their valuable content. This marked the beginning of our journey in the virtual space, initiated with the creation of the brand “Faraasa: Electronic Education and Assessment System.”

In the early days of launching Faraasa, our initial goal was to reach 1,000 users. The initial courses received a good reception, and we quickly reached this goal. With increased confidence, we then targeted 5,000 users. By combining B2B and B2C marketing models, this goal was also within reach. During this time, with a novel idea, we introduced the “Research Skills Training Courses in Health” to the medical community, featuring dozens of multimedia and text-based training courses. The response from universities and research centers was excellent.

Now, gradually, the electronic education sector is creating value and providing the necessary resources and fuel for Farzan’s ambitious goals to establish “smart health” infrastructures. Yes! Now, 15 years have passed since the beginning of our exciting and eventful journey in the world of ICT and the virtual space. Farzan is a digital publisher approved by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, recognized for its digital online publishing on mobile carriers and media.

620,000 users have participated in over 400 training courses in the Faraasa electronic education system. We have published more than 500,000 CDs and DVDs in the field of health education. We have created billions of tomans in value from a sector that most experts and economic activists believe is not profitable—namely education, especially electronic health education—and from the resources generated from it, we have today introduced the largest electronic health system in the country under the brand “SalemSa” to the Iranian community.

But SalemSa! SalemSa took its first step in 2015… Our first program in creating a superior platform in smart health was to establish a teleconsultation system, including online, phone, and text consultations. One of our major challenges in this journey was to create a stable, high-quality audio-video connection between healthcare providers and patients, considering the specifications and limitations of technology and the internet in the country. We used PHP programming language to design this system. Currently, the audio-video communication section of this system has been updated, and it is now accessible to users through a mobile app in addition to the web. Soon, a mobile app for consultants will also be available to consultants and doctors so that they can use the app for consultations, which will naturally be simpler and more user-friendly.

Next, we started designing and implementing the smart evaluation and feedback system. One of the most important aspects of healthcare is obtaining medical history and gathering information, analyzing data in a standardized, evidence-based manner, and providing appropriate feedback and solutions to patients. This system includes a variety of features, including 15 types of questions, various feedback options, logic, formulas, visually appealing charts, locator maps, and more.

As we progressed, the design of other systems was put on the agenda… Among them are the health roadmap system based on intelligent flowcharts for web and mobile, mobile applications for Android and iOS, the health intelligence system based on business intelligence (BI), the evaluation system for medical symptoms in patients based on 110 medical symptoms, the disease reporting system for communicable diseases, including 21 communicable diseases using GIS, the self-care electronic record system, and the health social network, which gradually took shape. The electronic health education system, which included LMS and webinars, already existed and was simply expanded.

These separate islands had to operate in an integrated manner, so the system known as LikeUp or integrated login was put on our agenda as a Single Sign-On (SSO). Connecting the systems to each other after implementing the SSO faced many challenges and complexities; the project team successfully completed this mission so that from now on, SalemSa would be an integrated platform where users, by registering once in any section, could access all systems. Moreover, when users log into one system, they gain access to all systems, and if they log out of one system, it counts as logging out of all systems; thus, users are relieved from repeated registrations and logins.

In addition to the web-based systems described above, 8 mobile applications have also been published by Farzan Institute.

We have never considered ourselves merely an IT company; rather, we believe our focus is on providing quality infrastructure and services in the health sector based on web2 models. With this perspective, initial efforts were made to outsource projects for increased efficiency, reduced costs, and improved quality. However, we quickly realized that outsourcing was not a suitable solution for complex projects with diverse components, as it did not yield desirable results. Consequently, from the very beginning, the processes of design, programming, and software testing were centralized within the organization, to the extent that in recent years, there have been periods when 17 projects were simultaneously underway with 25 programmers and various technologies within the institute.

Our origin is in the medical field. This is a valuable relative advantage compared to other players who have designed software without medical knowledge. We have designed systems from a health perspective, tailored to the health and clinical needs of the community and patients. The production of program content has also been conducted with the highest quality, in an intelligent, interactive, and personalized manner.

At the same time, the fact that we have not been an IT company has also posed challenges. A company with a long history in information technology likely has established programming infrastructure, which we naturally did not have; creating software in this context required more energy and effort.

In contrast to most digital and non-digital health programs, even major national programs that focus on tangible, short-term results or sometimes profit-driven purposes, Farzan’s focus has primarily been on “health” and “promoting health and preventing diseases.” This focus can pose another challenge for our programs, as justifying it to managers, policymakers, and the public, as well as securing financial resources, becomes more difficult.

The programming languages and technologies used in the programs have varied according to needs: PHP, Python, Java, Android, iOS, and others are part of them. The largest smart health platform in the country now has over 800 pages, and considering interactive and intelligent content in various fields, it encompasses thousands of pages. This content is categorized into comprehensive programs and (ordinary) health programs. Comprehensive programs consist of an interactive and intelligent set comprising a mobile app, messaging features, a health roadmap consisting of various stations and personalized paths, smart evaluations and feedback, personal messages, needs-based consultations, health education in text and multimedia formats, social networking, and more.

Our comprehensive programs focus on the management and control of non-communicable diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, mental health, respiratory diseases, cancers, and their risk factors such as physical inactivity, overweight, obesity, and smoking. Family and sexual health, as well as child health, are also included in these programs. The programs are rapidly evolving and developing. Ordinary programs cover areas such as osteoporosis, ergonomics, musculoskeletal disorders, health ambassadors, self-care, lifestyle and health promotion, nutrition, and more. Health education programs also include substantial textual and multimedia content.

Today, Farzan is a knowledge-based company… In the early years of the 2010s, after the approval of the “Law for the Support of Knowledge-Based Companies and Institutions and the Commercialization of Innovation,” along with the establishment of the Innovation and Prosperity Fund, knowledge-based companies found a prominent position in the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem. Before this time, the institute’s qualifications had been recognized by various national bodies, including the Planning and Budget Organization, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Labor, and the Municipality of Tehran, among others. Now, obtaining knowledge-based approval from the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology and the associated benefits was on Farzan’s agenda.

In 2014 and early 2015, coinciding with the peak of sanctions against our country, the institute had also lost its international contracts, and government agencies were in a state of stagnation. In such conditions, where the institute’s financial balances were not promising, our efforts to obtain approval from the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology did not succeed and were rejected. The main reason for rejection can be attributed to the lack of development of the institute’s technological infrastructure and its financial balances at that time.

However, the determination of the Farzan team was strong, and their efforts doubled! Once again, in 2018, thanks to 3 to 4 years of relentless efforts in developing smart health infrastructure and coinciding with the institute’s economic flourishing, we applied for knowledge-based approval, which this time was successful, and Farzan was recognized as a knowledge-based industrial production company (in the ICT sector) with a focus on digital health.

Meanwhile, Farzan has also achieved a significant position among the leaders of the national ecosystem of innovation and technology, and in the last 3 years, we have transformed from a software house into a smart health company with a well-defined identity in the health sector.

Today, we are trying to utilize our achievements to make a valuable contribution to achieving the goals of the health system in the country by reducing health costs and enhancing the quality of services. This aspiration has led us to actively cooperate with various ministries, including the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Welfare, as well as the Social Security Organization and various insurance companies.

Our main slogan has always been “healthy individuals, healthy community,” and we are striving to bring this slogan to fruition through scientific collaborations and studies with the medical community and professors in our universities.

Timeline:

Date of Birth of Founder J 14^th July 1974
Acceptance in the Entrance Exam of Gifted and Talented Students Organization (NODET): September 1986
Acceptance in University Entrance Exam as Student of Medicine – September 1993, rank of 104 among 300.000 participants
Unofficial start of the institute’s activities – September 11, 2001, coinciding with the September 11 attacks.
Official registration of the institute and start of formal activities – December 2001.
Publication of medical science journals – January 2002.
Founder of Farzan Institute receives MD (Doctor of Medicine) degree – July 2002.
Initiation of the researcher training program – October 2002.
Publication of the first international article – November 2003.
First foreign clinical research organization (CRO) contract – November 2007.
Launch of the e-learning system – December 2008.
Release of the online research skills training package – August 2009.
Receiving a foreign grant – September 2010.
Selected as the national top entrepreneur – August 2011.
Membership in Pardis Technology Park – November 2011.
Crossing the threshold of 500 articles in international journals – June 2013.
Initiation of electronic health systems (Salema) – April 2015.
Launch of Farzan’s digital publishing – January 2016.
Release of the first mobile application – March 2016.
Implementation of an online and multimedia training course for young couples with 500,000 users – July 2016.
Reporting system for infectious diseases – February 2017.
Opening of the second branch of Farzan Institute with the presence of the mayor of Tehran – April 2017.
Establishment of Farzan Publishing – August 2017.
Crossing the threshold of 100,000 users on the e-learning system – September 2017.
Execution of an intelligent Alzheimer’s campaign with over 1,000 participants – September 2017.
Defense of the doctoral dissertation in Business Management (DBA) by the founder of Farzan Institute on the topic “Establishment of a Business Intelligence (BI) system on smart health systems” – January 2018.
Obtaining knowledge-based license – February 2019.
Beginning of electronic health branding – January 2020.
Selection of the “Doodbas: Intelligent Smoking Cessation” application by the Tehran City Council – February 2020.
Creation of a mobile application for online consultations – October 2020.
Localization of parts of digital health systems for international activities – June 2020.
Multimedia and online training course “Living with COVID-19 Guide” – November 2020.
Implementation of the largest public health education program in Iran titled “Every Home a Health Base” in collaboration with the Ministry of Health – April 2021.
Success in elections and membership in the board of directors and presidency of the Entrepreneurship Counseling Centers Association (over 100 companies) – September 2021.
Success in elections and membership in the board of directors of the National Association of Entrepreneurship Counseling Centers (over 1,200 companies) – December 2021.
Formation of the Farzan Artificial Intelligence group – October 2022.
Signing the first contract with UN-affiliated organizations – February 2023.
Publication of the first research article by the Farzan Artificial Intelligence group in international journals – July 2024.
Presentation of the first product of the Farzan Artificial Intelligence group: a specialized large language model in the field of mental health in Persian.
Launch of an AI program for assessing clinical symptoms in patients (Symptom Checker), including 110 medical symptoms – August 2024.