Equality in Health, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel say residents are "seriously discriminated against."
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICHhealth scan 88(photo credit: )
Residents of the North and South are "seriously discriminated against" by the health authorities, who have failed to ensure that they receive the same level of advanced medical equipment as the center of the country, according to the Equality in Health and the Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-Israel).
In a statement released Sunday, the organizations said they have constantly protested this inequality, which exists despite regulations requiring minimum per-capita standards for such medical technologies as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) and computerized tomography (CT) equipment in all parts of the country.
"The Health Ministry, which is responsible for ensuring equity in the dispersion of medical equipment around the country, does not enforce its regulations and allows more and more devices to be installed in Tel Aviv at the expense of the North and South," said Dr. Yuval Nifnat, head of the Israeli residents department at PHR-Israel.
The per-capita rate of CT scanners is 70 percent higher in the Tel Aviv area than in the South and 60% higher than in the North. Tel Aviv's MRI rate is three times higher than in the South and seven times than in the North. There are no PET installations in the North or South, the statement said.
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