11 Facts and Charts About Medicine in Israel: How to Spend Less and Stay Among the World Leaders

Israel has given the rest of the world a real master class on how to quickly vaccinate the population. The number of infected people is falling, more than half of the population is already fully vaccinated against the disease. The country begins to receive bonuses from the efficiency of the healthcare system and the discipline of citizens: tourists will be allowed in here from May (so far with antibodies or confirmed vaccination), but this will return to the Israeli economy the billions of dollars that foreigners spent here before the pandemic, and the work of 140 thousand Israelis. We collected 10 facts about how and with whom the healthcare system in Israel works.

Israelis are among the healthiest people in the world

Bloomberg regularly ranks the healthiest countries in the world. The state of medicine, the prevalence of smoking and alcohol consumption, access to drinking water, sewerage, the prevalence of obesity and many other factors are taken into account.

So, in the ranking of countries with the healthiest population, Israel is in 10th place. Ukraine is in 93rd place.

The healthiest people live in Spain, Israel in 10th place in the world

The country is ranked 6th in the world in terms of the efficiency of the healthcare system

The proportion of older people is growing

The average life expectancy of an Israeli is 83 years, and the number of people over the age of 65 exceeds 10% of the population. This requires additional costs for the treatment and care of the elderly.

Average life expectancy is a good indicator of the quality of life of the population and the state of medicine

It is curious that a significant burden on the health care system comes from immigrants from the former USSR who arrived in Israel as adults and are already retiring, paying much less taxes than those who lived in the country longer than them. Of course, Israel's policy of facilitating the arrival of Jews from all over the world is not aimed at increasing the number of workers. The Jewish state thus restores justice. But this example can still be interesting for countries that encourage migration to solve demographic problems. Migration alone is not enough for this to avoid distortions in the economy, a comprehensive approach is needed.

Health care is relatively cheap in Israel

Israel spends 7.5% of its GDP on healthcare. This is relatively little for a country with a high level of medical development. In the United States, 17% of GDP is spent on health care, in Germany – 11.4%, in Spain – 9%, and in Ukraine – 7.7%.

This is a merit of a healthy lifestyle and focus on early detection of diseases.

In Israel, they understand that a sick person costs the healthcare system much more than a healthy one. Therefore, the country is pursuing a policy of promoting healthy eating and lifestyle. Other areas that are being focused on are preventive medicine and screening, because a disease detected at an early stage is easier and more effective to treat.

… and the fact that medicine alone earns hundreds of millions of dollars

Israel attracts foreigners not only with beaches and architectural monuments. The country is actively visited by people who need medical care. Every year they leave here about 500 million dollars.

Israel ranks 3rd in the world for medical tourism

To attract foreign patients, hospitals receive international accreditation

Already 29 Israeli clinics have received international accreditation so that patients from all over the world know that they will receive quality services from them. In Ukraine, only 2 medical institutions have received such recognition so far.

It is one of the world leaders in vaccination against COVID-19

Israel has a very high population density of 368 people per square kilometer, one of the highest in the world. For comparison, in Ukraine it is 74 people. And 70% of economic activity is concentrated in a narrow strip along the Mediterranean coast. Therefore, the fight against the coronavirus has become a matter of national importance for Israel, and it seems that medicine and the discipline of the population have successfully dealt with it.

Digital healthcare is actively developing in the country

Digital health includes telemedicine, the use of mobile devices, electronic recording of medical records, the use of cognitive technologies, artificial intelligence and analytics in health care. 550 startups work in this area, there are offices and development centers of General Electric, Philips, IBM, Microsoft. Investment in digital health accounts for 4.5% of the world, while the population of Israel is 0.1% of the world.

Medical marijuana legal in Israel

On the one hand, the government does not exclude cannabis from the list of dangerous drugs, on the other hand, people can get it for medical purposes.

Israeli medicine copes well with the challenges. The Israeli way of life helps her in this, focusing on the prevention of the disease, rather than the elimination of the consequences. All this makes it possible to keep health care costs at a relatively low level with a high quality of services. Moreover, medical institutions earn decently from foreign tourists, receiving extrabudgetary money for modernization, the latest technologies and training of doctors.This is a great example for Ukrainians – how to start making our medicine modern and of high quality today. The first unexpected but correct step is to give up cigarettes and an extra bottle of beer.

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The author of the report is Top Lead content marketing agency. The follow-up was due to the support of the pharmaceutical company Darnitsa. Information partner — BusinessViews.