Abstract Background The study explores how state regulations can encourage and influence organizational norms, such as safety in geriatric healthcare. Methods Using thematic analysis, we focused on patient safety as an organizational goal by analyzing the content of 147 regulations related to geriatric treatment. The analysis was framed within Schwartz’s theory of basic human values. Results Three main themes were identified: patient safety, staff safety, and safety and risk management. The findings show that safety-related values are systematically embedded in Israeli geriatric regulations and offer practical strategies for enhancing safety outcomes in geriatric hospitals. Conclusions The study offers three main contributions. First, it applies an individual-level value theory to explain organizational objectives in a health policy context. Second, it provides a three-level regulatory framework (micro, meso, macro) that enables more targeted and specialized policy development. Third, it demonstrates that well-written regulations can serve as detailed operational tools that improve nonmedical aspects of care and advance organizational goals.
Israel operates one of the most extensive publicly funded in vitro fertilization (IVF) programs worldwide. Alongside IVF, adjunct technologies aimed at improving reproductive outcomes, such as preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A), have been increasingly adopted. PGT-A is designed to identify chromosomally normal embryos before transfer. Despite its growing use, PGT-A is not included in Israel’s National Health Basket. Given the local high utilization of IVF and the substantial public expenditure, evaluating the economic value of PGT-A is essential for evidence-based health policy decision-making. Most available analyses of PGT-A originate from private or mixed healthcare systems, where treatment costs and reimbursement structures differ from Israel’s fully publicly funded IVF model. This study aimed to determine whether PGT-A is cost-effective when provided as part of Israel’s IVF program. A theoretical model-based cost-effectiveness analysis using a Markov decision framework compared PGT-A with morphology-based embryo selection from the perspective of the Israeli public healthcare payer. The model simulated repeated embryo transfers for various age groups and blastocyst availability scenarios. Relevant cost estimates of the two strategies were based on Israeli Ministry of Health data (2025). The probabilities of main clinical outcomes were derived from the American Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) database. The effectiveness outcome was live birth. Deterministic one-way sensitivity analyses were performed. The cost-effectiveness analysis showed dominance for the no-PGT-A strategy; PGT-A was associated with higher costs and lower effectiveness compared with no-PGT-A. Across all age groups and blastocyst numbers, PGT-A was consistently more costly than no-PGT-A. Sensitivity analyses identified the cost of the PGT-A test per tested embryo and the number of available blastocysts as the most influential factors on the incremental cost. It was demonstrated that although PGT-A is a less effective strategy, reducing the costs of the PGT-A test could make it a less costly strategy for women aged 38 years and above. In this circumstance, a trade-off between strategies can be considered. PGT-A cannot be recommended for public funding within the Israeli public IVF program. Its application may be considered for advanced-age patients if the cost of the PGT-A test is reduced.
Research on Mental Health Literacy (MHL) has expanded across cultural minority groups, yet little is known about the relationships between socioeconomic status (SES), MHL, and mental health (MH) service utilization. This study investigates the relationship between MHL, SES, and MH service utilization among Palestinian citizens of Israel (PCIs). A cross-sectional survey (n = 372, Mage 36.88 ± 13.52 years, 68
Background Oral diseases are among the most prevalent non-communicable conditions worldwide, contributing to significant health burdens and disparities. In response, the World Health Organization established the Global Oral Health Action Plan 2023-2030, urging countries to integrate oral health into universal health coverage and adopt comprehensive prevention strategies. This article examines Israel's alignment with these objectives.Main Body Over the past 15 years, Israel has advanced oral health within Universal Health Coverage by integrating dental services into the National Health Insurance Law and progressively expanding public financing to children and the elderly, while maintaining coverage for special patient groups. Children and the elderly now account for over 40% of those eligible for publicly funded dental care. Prevention is central to policy. National school and mother-and-child health programs provide supervised toothbrushing, fluoride varnish applications, and oral health education, reaching nearly all children in recognized educational settings. Multidisciplinary primary care models link dental professionals with nurses and pediatric providers to deliver coordinated, life-course services, while strengthening the oral health workforce. Additional system measures include front-of-pack sugar warning labels, a national policy to phase down dental amalgam use, and ongoing efforts to establish a unified digital surveillance system for oral health. Together, expanded coverage, prevention-focused delivery, workforce development, and system strengthening position oral health as an integral component of Universal Health Coverage in Israel.Conclusion Israel has made considerable progress in aligning with the Global Oral Health Action Plan, particularly by expanding coverage and preventive interventions for children and the elderly. However, continued efforts are needed to address remaining gaps in adult coverage, strengthen the capacity and distribution of the oral health workforce, and further integrate oral health care into innovative, multidisciplinary models. Systematic surveillance systems are also needed to accurately track disease burden and ensure equitable outcomes across all population groups.
Israeli policymakers have four key concerns about Israel’s future physician workforce: an insufficient number of physicians, an uneven quality of training, a geographic maldistribution, and a sub-optimal specialty mix. Recently, Israeli policymakers have launched a multi-year, multifaceted effort to address those workforce challenges. This comprehensive review of the policy responses seeks to fill a gap in the English-language literature, making it possible for scholars worldwide to contribute to the development of effective Israeli workforce policies and their evaluation. This integrative article was written by a group of senior and mid-level professionals based at the Ministry of Health, all of whom are significantly involved in healthcare workforce issues. In writing the article, the authors drew on a wide range of official government reports, internal government memos, journal articles, OECD reports, Israeli and OECD databases, and Israeli committee reports. The policy responses fall into the following six clusters: 1. Implementing strategic workforce planning and data-informed workforce regulation. 2. Increasing the number of students trained annually in Israeli medical schools. 3. Increasing the supply of well-trained physicians from non-Israeli medical schools. 4. Streamlining and modernizing post-graduate medical education. 5. Increasing the number of young people from the geographic periphery who successfully pursue medical careers. 6. Expanding training and employment opportunities for advanced practice professionals. The multi pronged workforce modernization agenda that Israel is now implementing—at remarkable speed and with substantial budgetary resources—is similar to that which many OECD countries have been building gradually over the past decade. It has also been adapted to Israel’s unique demographic pressures, reliance on foreign trained physicians, and longstanding geographic disparities. Successfully addressing Israel’s many workforce challenges will require a stepping up of the analysis, creativity, resourcefulness, cooperation and budgetary expansion that have characterized recent efforts to meet Israel’s medical workforce needs. To maximize the impact of Israel’s multi-faceted workforce reform, it will also be important to solicit ongoing input from national and international workforce experts.
