Israel's Healthcare System in Crisis: Shortages of Physicians and Medical Supplies
Israel's Healthcare System in Crisis: Shortages of Physicians and Medical Supplies
Working physicians per 1000 population in 2000 and 2017 (https://www.oecd.org/)
Meanwhile, Israel's ageing population is putting a strain on the Israeli healthcare system, as projections indicate a 48% surge in the population aged 75 and above by 2030. The emergence of the "silver economy" has given rise to a new market that caters to the demands of the elderly population. The catastrophic impact of Israel's geriatric demographic on the healthcare sector cannot be overstated. The demand for hospital beds and doctors has risen dramatically as the elderly population increasingly relies on medical services.
The ongoing predicament of the Israeli healthcare system has been brought to the forefront once again as Tel Aviv's medical professionals have taken to the streets to voice their concerns over the gruelling 26-hour work shifts. This controversial issue has sparked widespread debate and underscored the urgent need for reform within the healthcare sector. According to the Israeli Treasury report, a significant proportion of specialised medical practitioners serving in hospitals are approaching the age of retirement.
Also, 60% of Israeli medical professionals graduate from foreign medical institutions. At first glance, this may save the government money on schooling; however, the matter of Israel's healthcare system's dependence on foreign-educated medical professionals has emerged as a pressing concern, particularly in the aftermath of the pandemic.
The exodus of a considerable number of licenced Israeli physicians, specifically those in anesthesiology (15%) and child psychiatry (12%), to foreign countries is a matter of great concern for the regime. In addition, nearly 10% of Israeli physicians have chosen to practise outside of the occupied territories. The lingering problem of a shortage of medical professionals in Israel has been a hotly debated topic in political circles for the past two decades, with repeated warnings issued about its potential ramifications. According to a report published by the Israeli Ministry of Health back in August 2009, there was a troubling trend of an 8% decrease in physicians per capita. According to the Israeli government inspector's forecasts in 2009, it was expected that Israel would experience a 26% drop in the number of doctors per capita by the year 2020.
On November 18, 2011, the Medical Association in Israel organised a special conference with the goal of discussing the issue of physician shortages. According to a report published by the Ynet news website in 2018, Israel is projected to experience a shortage of 5,000 physicians within the next ten years. Nevertheless, no substantial measures were implemented in this regard. In addition, Israel is presently facing a severe shortage of medical supplies. Notwithstanding the increase in population, there has been a reduction of 9 percent in the number of hospital beds per 1,000 individuals from 2010 to 2022. In 1995, Israel had 2.27 beds per 1,000 people, but in 2022, it will decrease to 1.75 beds. This decrease in hospital beds is concerning since the population over the age of 65 is predicted to increase by 2035. Currently, 12% of the population in the occupied territories is 65 or older, and this figure is expected to rise to 2 million by 2040, accounting for 14.2% of the population. This implies that Israel will be unable to deal with its ageing population in the coming years.
Israel's number of MRI devices per million people is comparatively low, with only 5.5 devices available. This is in contrast to the average of approximately 18.4 MRI devices per million people in OECD member countries. The chronic shortage of medical facilities, security challenges, and growing livelihood problems in the occupied territories, along with a gap in the number of doctors working in Tel Aviv and surrounding districts, have caused many physicians to leave for good. It is possible that the retirement of immigrant physicians from the former Soviet Union contributed to the decline in the number of physicians in Israel. On the other hand, the number of medical students in Israel cannot grow significantly owing to a lack of clinical training institutes, which may exacerbate the situation. Finally, rapid population growth and an ageing population have exacerbated the country's physician deficit.
