Israeli physicians abroad could affect local manpower levels

Of the 29,129 total doctors living in Israel, 56% have at least one medical specialty, a 6% increase over the 2008 figure.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Updated: MAY 9, 2016 00:32
Doctor [Illustrative] (photo credit: INGIMAGE)
Doctor [Illustrative]
(photo credit: INGIMAGE)
Some 10 percent of licensed Israeli physicians lived abroad for at least a year with 82% having been outside the country for at least five years, according to statistics from 2012, released Sunday by the Health Ministry and Central Bureau of Statistics.
In 2012, the latest year for which such data were available, there were 3.68 physicians per 1,000 Israelis in the country, but given expected population growth, the rate of doctors under the age of 65 is expected to decline to about 2.9 per 1,000 in 2025, despite the opening of a new medical school in Safed and the expansion of classes at other medical schools.
Among health care statistics released Sunday, it was revealed that of 23,094 doctors working in the health care system in 2012, 59.5% were men. However, given the fact that women constitute a bit more than half of medical school student bodies today, that proportion already should have changed direction and is expected to be more significant by 2025.
Also, some 56% health-sector workers of all types were revealed to have been born abroad, while 88% are Jews and the remainder mostly Arabs.
Seventy percent of those working in health professions in 2012 were salaried employees, with the average gross annual salary of Israeli physicians being NIS 388,000. Male doctors earned an average of NIS 443,000 compared with NIS 308,000 for female physicians because they worked fewer hours and less overtime due to the need to care for their families, the data indicated.
Income of physicians who worked in both the public and private sectors was higher than that of doctors who worked solely in either public institutions or private medical facilities, according to the report.
Doctors’ salaries soared 40% from 2008 to 2012, largely due to the lengthy physicians’ strike in 2011, which resulted in significant wage benefits.
Of the 29,129 total doctors living in Israel, 56% have at least one medical specialty, a 6% increase over the 2008 figure.