“In Canada, a non-urgent orthopedic appointment can take six months to a year and a half,” said Dr. Benjamin Goldstein, who moved to Israel from Canada and now runs family medicine for Clalit’s Jerusalem District. “In Israel, sometimes it’s three days.” For a newcomer, he suggested, that gap is the first surprise.
Goldstein and Dr. Danna Ekmaty Azria, a pediatrician who directs Clalit’s Central District, spoke on a ynet Global panel about why Israeli medicine is built around the neighborhood clinic, and why that matters most to olim, the new immigrants.
The first call
The family doctor sits at the center of it. “The family doctor is your first line for care, your first line for everything basically,” Goldstein said. He described a physician who treats patients and also keeps track of everyone else involved. After a specialist visit, people usually go back to their family doctor, who checks that tests, referrals and follow-up are handled properly.
It helps that records are shared. Goldstein said a doctor anywhere in the country can pull up a patient’s visit notes, scans, blood work and hospital reports within the same public system.
Ekmaty Azria described the setting as more than one doctor in a room. “It’s a full clinic with secretaries, administrative staff, nurses, doctors and often additional services like dietitians, nutritionists and social workers,” she said. “It’s a whole envelope and a whole team who are there to take care of you.”
That team matters to people new to the country. “A lot of people have no clue about the bureaucracy,” Ekmaty Azria said. Clinic staff and the doctor guide patients through referrals, tests and appointments.
Choosing a health fund, then a doctor
New immigrants can register for health care when they land at Ben Gurion Airport, according to Nefesh B’Nefesh, which advises them to research which provider serves their new community best. By law, the health funds, known as Kupot Cholim, must accept every applicant regardless of age or medical history.
Many olim, though, pick a fund on a friend’s recommendation or a familiar brand name, an earlier ynet Global feature found, often without comparing how easy the clinic is to reach, where it is, or whether staff speak their language. The two physicians pushed a different priority. Find a doctor you trust.
“You don’t necessarily need the best doctor,” Ekmaty Azria said. “You need someone you feel you can count on.” She argued that real family medicine means a doctor who knows you: “Not only your symptoms or complaints, but your family, your work and what you’re going through. It’s a holistic approach, body and soul together.”
Goldstein acknowledged that adjusting is hard at first, especially for people from countries with very different systems. At a ynet Global aliyah summit, Clalit representatives are also set to walk newcomers through signing up with a fund, picking a physician and booking visits.
Sources
- Why family doctors are key to navigating Israel's healthcare system for new immigrants (ynetnews)
- Kupot Cholim (Nefesh B'Nefesh)
- Making Aliyah? ynet Global summit tackles banking, healthcare, jobs and your first days in Israel (ynetnews)
