Digitalization in Social Services, E-Commerce, and Healthcare: A Review and Reflection
- Local Social Insurance System in my home country “Iran” – Tamin Ejtemaei Organization
Tamin Ejtemaei organization is the largest welfare organizations in my home country, “Iran”. It provides service to over 40 million people such as healthcare, unemployment insurance, disability payments, and retirement pensions. Tamin Ejtemaei Organization has embraced digital transformation in order to modernize and develop services. The digital services that Tamin Ejtemaei Organization offers are as follows:
- https://eservices.tamin.ir is an online service portal that users can apply for services, monitor their contribution history, and access personal insurance information via
- Via the online service portal people can submit insurance claims and medical reimbursements.
- In this portal there is a Medical Appointment System that let Insurance-covered patients make appointments with contracted physicians.
- Insurance-covered users can install Mobile Apps for payment status, and receive SMS Alerts for changes and etc.
Development Trends
- Tamin Ejtemaei organization is planning for:
- Integrating with Iran Health Networks for making patient-insurance records unified.
- For detecting fraud, they are planning for establishment of AI-based Automations.
- They are establishing campaigns for user training to develop accessibility for older and less tech-savvy people.
Despite advancements, rural areas are limited to have access services because of slow internet and a lack of digital knowledge.
Digital Services in Social and Healthcare in Iran
Over the past ten years, Ministry of Health of Iran has given digital health programs top priority. These programs rely heavily on platforms like as the national electronic health record (EHR) system, Sepehr.
Important Digital Healthcare Services
- Sepehr EHR System lets hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies to connect each other with the aim of integrating patient care
- E-prescriptions are another service for Issuing electronically and filling at linked pharmacies.
- Telemedicine Platforms offer services like Services such as “Snapp Doctor” and “Pezeshket” for providing online medical consultations.
- Mobile Health Apps offer chronic disease tracking, COVID-19 updates, and also health reminders.
benefits of Digital Healthcare Services
- Bureaucracy is decreased
- access to physicians in rural areas is increased.
- administration of health data is developed.
- insurance and medication data and insurance are transparent.
drawbacks
- access is Unequal because of low digital literacy.
- There are privacy risks and not enough cybersecurity.
- There are technical problems.
- healthcare staff resist against digitalization.
2. Evaluation of Booking.com vs Local (Iranian) Travel Agencies
Booking.com is a popular online travel agency. It offers safe booking options, customer reviews, and also lists of accommodations. When you compare it with Iranian agencies, it is more comprehensive and user-friendly.
Price Comparison
Online platforms for providing loyalty programs usually offer lower prices. However online platforms and local organizations in Iran charge service fees and offer fewer discounts.
Information Adequacy
Booking.com as a popular online travel agency provides variety of information including room photos and descriptions, reviews, nearby attractions, location maps, check in information, and flexible cancelation. This information can help service users make better decisions. In my home country, online travel agencies, unlike booking.com provide not enough transparency.
Reliability
Booking.com is very reliable and every year millions of people around the world use their services and receive perfect customer service. I have had some smooth and secure experience for international hotel booking via this platform.
Limitations in Iran:
Iranian people are unable to pay directly using Iranian bank cards because of international sanctions. In addition, some hotels in Iran are not listed in this platform.
3. Chosen Digital Service from My Field – Digikala
I as a business development professional, chose DigiKala. In Iran, Digikala is a leading ecommerce platform. this platform, has revolutionized digital retail and has changed customer expectations.
Reasons for Choosing Digikala
In Iran, Digikala serves as a model like business innovation and digital supply chains, they integrate customer service, logistics, product diversity and internet marketing. with my background in quality assurance and customer service, I can say they provide continuous quality improvement.
User Experience
From my experience, Digikala has categorized their products and search filters perfectly. They offer reliable delivery service in many cities in Iran. Their products are described with details and user reviews are transparent.
Challenges
Despite excellent user experience, there are also some challenges about Digikala services including, longer delivery in small cities than big cities, in some cases, I was witnessed that some inaccurate listings have been occurred by their sellers and some customer service delays occasionally. Totally, although there are some infrastructural and regulatory challenges in Iran, Digikala is an example of successful digital transformation.
4. Digitalization and Digital Gap – Risks and Challenges
While services of online platforms become increasingly digital, People without access or skills risk will be excluded. This digital gap can lead to worsen inequality.
Key Risks and Challenges
- Elderly people and those living in rural areas may not have access to government services, therefore Digital Exclusion can be a key risk for theses group of people.
- Financial Barriers are other challenges as Lower income populations may not be able to buy smartphones and internet services.
- some users may fear fraud and be unprepared to use digital platforms. As a result, are challenges for theses platforms.
- Emotional and Mental Impact can be a risk as digitalization increases frustration, and isolation and also reduces self-esteem due to tech reliance.
Because of these risks and challenges, some efforts should be applied to close digital gap, provide digital access points, and planning for training programs.
5. Self-Reflection
By doing this assignment, now I am aware of how much digitalization can affect our daily lives, even in developing countries like my home country “Iran”. from consumer platforms like Digikala to government services like Tamin Ejtemae, digital tools can speed up activities and make them more transparent. At the same time, I also have become more conscious of the risks and concerns associated with digital illiteracy.
I now know how to evaluate online services regarding to their security, usability, and their accessibility. My experience in customer service helped me to assess user experiences, and my international business studies showed me the international trends in this field.
Understanding digital gaps helped me deepen my knowledge of social responsibility because it’s not enough just to build digital platforms, we also need to make sure everyone can use them. I am sure that my future efforts in public service and business development will be affected by this knowledge.
References
- Social Security Organization of Iran. (2025). Official portal of electronic services. https://www.tamin.ir/
- Digikala. (2025). About us. https://www.digikala.com/page/about-us/
- World Bank. (2021). World Development Report 2021: Data for Better Lives. Washington, DC: World Bank. https://hdl.handle.net/10986/35218
- Booking.com. About Booking.com™. Retrieved April 17, 2025, from https://www.booking.com/content/about.html
- Delavari, S., Doshmangir, L., & Yazdizadeh, B. (2020). Electronic health record implementation in Iran: A qualitative study. Journal of Health Management & Informatics, 7(3), 123-130. Available at: https://jhd.goums.ac.ir/article-1-29-en.pdf
- Farahani, M. J., & Shafiee, H. (2020). The role of artificial intelligence in digital transformation in Iranian social services. Iranian Journal of E-Government, 4(2), 45–57. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375561711
- Niksadat, N., Arab-Zozani, M., & Janati, A. (2021). Challenges of telemedicine implementation in Iran: A review of evidence. BMC Health Services Research, 21, Article 323.Available at: https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-023-10488-6
- OECD. (2021). Bridging the Digital Divide: Skills, access and policy support. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/digital/bridging-the-digital-divide/
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