Something bad is happening to Israel's public hospitals. The medical profession has lost its shine since the ascendance of high-tech, and the people joining the public system cannot pay their bills without the supplementary work offered by private hospitals. Moreover, the temptation to move abroad is growing.
In an exclusive interview with "Globes" Sheba Medical Center director general Prof. Zeev Rotstein said, "More than ten of our doctors go abroad every year. They go on training courses and simply don’t come back." Sheba is Israel's largest hospital.
Rotstein added, "Some doctors return, but can't adjust, especially because of the differences in salary. They get a better offer overseas and go back. The starting salary for anesthetists in the US is $400,000 a year. For the sake of comparison, the salary in Israel is $60,000 a year. Tell me, where would you rather work?"
Rotstein attacked the private hospital Assuta Medical Center, owned by Maccabi Heath Services, calling its new center in Ramat Hayal in Tel Aviv a "gigantic monster". "Assuta is a serious problem for us. They can pay whatever they like to whomever they want. They pay anesthetists three times for less work, resulting in public hospitals with no anesthetists. Let me remind you that we're bound by wage agreements."
Rotstein does not oppose private medicine; he simply wants it at his own hospital. "There's a great advantage in amalgamating both systems into one. The advantage lies in operating the hospital as a private source too, allowing patients to choose their doctors and to meet real needs," he says. Basically, he wants a return to the system of private medical services, which were banned in public hospitals in 2002.
"When I look at a patient who wants a particular doctor and I can't let him chose, because I am not allowed to, I worry that a black market might arise, through which the patient will somehow see the doctor, whether through cronyism or by paying under the table," he says.
Rotstein knows what he is talking about regarding the black market. Cardiac surgeon Prof. Aram Smolinski worked at Sheba when he was accused accepting tens of thousands of shekels in bribes from patients. Rotstein asserts, "Do you know what will happen to Assuta if tomorrow morning the legislature would backpedal and decide to let us provide private medical services? Our 200 doctors who go to Assuta would prefer to stay here and avoid the rushing back and forth."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 17, 2008
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