Waiting times for surgical procedures vary wildly, according to the Ministry of Health's first-ever full report on waiting times at Israel's 25 public hospitals, published today.
The longest waiting times are 122 days for nasal septum straightening, 102 days for abdominal aortic aneurysm repair by stent or graft, 81-88 days for a hip or other joint replacement, 96 days for bariatric surgery, 72 days for cataract or retina removal or implant, and 69 days for a hernia repair.
The average waiting time for knee replacement surgery at Sheba Medical Center - Tel Hashomer is 174 days, compared with just 29 days at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center - Ichilov Hospital . The average waiting time at Rambam Healthcare Campus in Haifa is 101 days, compared with 22 days at Assaf Harofeh Medical Center outside Rishon LeZion. The waiting time for a tonsillectomy is 100 days at Sheba Medical Center, 23 days at Ichilov, 147 days at Rambam, and just six days at Assaf Harofeh.
The average waiting time for bariatric surgery is 173 days at Sheba Medical Center, 59 days at Ichilov, 122 days at Rambam, and 127 days at Assaf Harofeh. The average waiting time for abdominal aortic aneurysm repair by stent or graft is 126 days at Sheba Medical Center, but just three days at Assaf Harofeh.
The Ministry of Health analysis found that, except for high demand for certain hospitals, other factors affect waiting times. For example, there can be large numbers of a particular surgical procedure at a hospital that specializes in it. For example, the Holy Family Hospital Nazareth is the top public hospital for gall bladder surgery. The ministry adds, "The shortage of specialist surgeons for joint replacements, except for hips or knees, in the north results in few procedures and long waiting times."
It should be noted that long waiting times are usually due to deliberate conduct by hospitals, if the procedures are not profitable, at least compared with other procedures. The Ministry of Health recently updated the rates for several surgical procedures, but it resulted in only a small improvement at some hospitals.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 29, 2014
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