Israel

This Middle Eastern country was founded in 1948 from what had been the British mandated territory of Palestine. As the only Jewish state in the world, it has had a policy of encouraging Jewish people from all over the world to settle in the country, resulting in one of the most culturally diverse populations in the world.

Although there are many references to medicine and medical treatment in surviving ancient Jewish texts, the modern history of Israeli medicine effective starts on January 11, 1912, with the establishment of The Hebrew Medicinal Society for Jaffa and the Jaffa District. There were nine doctors present at the meeting, from 32 Jewish physicians living in what became Israel. In 1913, the Hebrew-Speaking Physicians’ Society was established and soon accepted membership from Hebrew-speaking doctors who lived outside the Holy Land. By 1914, there were 60 Jewish doctors in the Holy Land, and the two organizations started to cooperate, merging after World War I to become the Hebrew Medical Association in the Land of Israel (HMA). In 1920 the HMA started publishing its quarterly journal Harefuah.

One of the major focuses of the medical services in what was then the British mandated territory of Palestine was the improvement of the sanitation in the region. With cholera, typhoid, malaria, and tuberculosis being prevalent, the provision of drinking water to all parts of the territory, as well as diagnosis of problems and money spent to help prevent the spread of these diseases all helped.

By 1939, the HMA had grown significantly in membership and its importance, and with the formation of the State of Israel, the HMA became the Israel Medical Association (IMA). Its initial energies were devoted to protecting doctors working in private hospitals, but with Israel spending considerable funds on establishing a government health sector from 1948 [Page 953]to 1963, the IMA started to help support doctors in public hospitals, as well as help with the formulation of Israeli government policy. From 1965 until 1997 it published the Israel Journal of Medical Sciences, which was superseded from 1999 by the Israel Medical Association Journal.

It was not long before a number of other medical societies were established in Israel. These included the Israel Society of Allergology, founded in 1949; the Israel Society of Clinical Pediatrics, founded in 1953; the Israel Gerentological Society was founded in 1956; the Israel Society of Internal Medicine, founded in 1958; the Israel Society of Geriatric Medicine, founded in 1963; and the Society for Medicine and Law in Israel, founded in 1972. There are also many medical research institutes in the country, the most well-known being the Rogoff-Wellcome Medical Research Institute, founded in 1955.

Some 70 percent of people in Israel are covered by the Kupat Holim, the sick fund run by Histadrut (the General Federation of Labor in Israel). Another 20 percent covered by insurance from other organizations, with only 10 percent of the population not covered by health insurance. Many of the medical problems now faced by doctors in Israel are connected with a high life expectancy, and affluent lifestyle. These include cancer, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. There have also been an increasing number of cases of hepatitis and HIV/AIDS The Republic of Israel has a population of 7,047,000 (2006), and has one of the highest doctor to population ratios in the world, with 385 doctors and 613 nurses per 100,000 people.

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