Private medical services in acute-care hospitals in Israel.

The objective of this study was to assess the proposed introduction of out-of-pocket funded inpatient and outpatient services (abbreviated as PMS) into government acute-care hospitals in Israel. This issue of public-private mix in not-for-profit hospitals is discussed in terms of the experience with PMS gained in selected advanced market economies. Then, the major contours of the Israeli system of health care, and the gradual evolving of patient-financed medical services within government acute-care hospitals in Israel, is described. The experience gained in the few public hospitals in Jerusalem that have been operating PMS is assessed critically. The concluding part reviews the advantages and disadvantages of these developments in public and government acute-care hospitals in Israel. It is concluded that PMS in public hospitals in Israel represents a policy aimed primarily at benefiting a select group of senior physicians in those hospitals.