Israel has OECD's most crowded hospitals

A Health Ministry report found Israel has 1.91 beds per 1,000 residents, compared with the OECD average of 3.4 beds.

Life expectancy in Israel is above the OECD average, the infant mortality rate is very low, and the number of children per fertile woman is almost double the OECD average. Nonetheless, a Ministry of Health report, published today, comparing Israel with other OECD member states again finds that Israelis have to cope with a health system that greatly lags in resources, infrastructures, and personnel.

For example, national spending on healthcare was 7.7% of GDP in 2011, unchanged from 1995, compared with steady growth in other OECD countries over the same period. The OECD average is 9.3%. The proportion of private spending on healthcare, above the health tax, is 37.9% in Israel, compared with the OECD average of 28.5%. Only Chile, Mexico, the US, and South Korea have a higher proportion than Israel. In comparison, private spending on healthcare in Japan is 18% and in Scandinavian countries it is 16%.

The Ministry of Health says that the Israel has 1.91 hospital beds per 1,000 residents, compared with the OECD average of 3.4 beds. Israel is at the bottom of the table, just below Canada and Mexico. The number of hospital beds per 1,000 residents is 7.95 in Japan, 5.33 in Germany, and 4.17 in Luxembourg.

The low number of hospital beds means that Israel has the highest bed occupancy rate in the OECD, at 98%. This is the average over the year; during winter, the bed occupancy rates at pediatrics and internal medicine wards can reach 170%. The OECD's average bed occupancy rate is 76.9%; it is 64.4% in the US and 48.6% in the Netherlands.

Israel has nine CT scanners per million residents, compared with the OECD average of 23.6 scanners. Only Hungary, the UK, and Mexico are ranked below Israel. Israel is even worse off for MRIs: it has just 2.5 MRI scanners per million residents, compared with the OECD average of 18.7 scanners. Japan has 46.9 MRI scanners per million residents. Only Mexico is ranked below Israel, with 2.1 MRI scanners per million residents.

The number of medical personnel in Israel is also worrisome. Although Israel has 3.3 doctors per 1,000 residents, slightly above the OECD average of 3.2 doctors, the trend is worrying. Despite raising the quota of medical students and the Ministry of Health's efforts to help students studying overseas, the number of doctors retiring exceeds the number of new doctors entering the healthcare system. The ministry expects the number of doctors per thousand residents to continue to fall in the coming years, in contrast to the increase in other OECD countries.

The problem is even worse in nursing, given that most of the hospital burden falls on nurses: Israel has 4.8 nurses per 1,000 residents, compared with the OECD average of 8.8 nurses. Switzerland has 16.6 nurses per 1,000 residents, Norway has 12.9 nurses, and Germany has 11.4. The Ministry of Health says that despite the record number of nurses certified in 2012 - more than 2,000 - the number of nurses per 1,000 residents continues to fall.

In view of these numbers, the following figure is no shock: the proportion of Israelis with supplementary health insurance and private health policies is 80%, putting Israel behind only France and the Netherlands. The OECD average is 32.5%.

High awareness of preventative medicine

The Ministry of Health report also states that Israelis are very aware of the importance of preventative medicine, which is reflected in high vaccination and test rates. 72.9% of women aged 50-69 get mammographies for the early detection of cancer, compared with the OECD average of 56.5%. Despite this, the mortality rate from breast cancer in Israel is above the OECD average. 61% of Israelis over 65 get flu vaccinations, compared with the OECD average of 50.4%.

Minister of Health Yael German said, "Israel's healthcare system is good and the quality of its doctors is high. Israel stands out favorably in some of the report's figures, including life expectancy, especially for men, and the low infant mortality rate. However, the report does not break down the differences between the center of the country and the periphery, or between different segments of the population. In the area of healthcare infrastructures, the report indicates worrying trends. There is no question that we should consider the matter and improve it."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 27, 2013

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2013

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