Israel Unveils National Plan to Address Medical Workforce Shortages by 2035

For the first time, Israel's Ministry of Health has launched a national plan to strategically manage its medical workforce, aiming to ensure a sufficient number of doctors in all specialties and a planned geographical distribution by 2035. Previously, residency positions were primarily determined by hospital needs and applicant demand. The new plan introduces incentive programs for all stakeholders to achieve these goals.

Director General of the Ministry of Health, Moshe Bar Siman Tov, highlighted that mental health and workforce planning are top priorities, with the plan initially focusing on physicians. He noted that Israel previously outsourced much of its medical training but reformed this by doubling medical school capacity and establishing new institutions, increasing annual medical student intake from around 820 to 1,650, with a goal of reaching 2,000 annually. This expansion required significant investment in physical and human resources, along with financial incentives for training institutions.

The next phase involves guiding doctors into national priority fields and ensuring equitable geographical distribution. A committee, led by Bar Siman Tov and including representatives from across the healthcare system, analyzed physician needs and supply until 2035 to build the current plan. The goal is to ensure specialists are available where they are most needed.

Rachel Brenner-Shalem, Deputy Director General for Strategic and Economic Planning, stated that the next decade will see a 57% increase in physicians, totaling 11,000, which will improve healthcare services. However, she emphasized that this growth alone is insufficient. The committee's work, despite intense discussions, has yielded concrete targets. The plan categorizes medical professions into four groups based on desired changes in the number of specialists per 100,000 people by 2035, with targets for increases of 35%, 25%, 15%, or maintaining the current ratio relative to 2029 projections.

Bar Siman Tov stressed that the plan relies on incentives rather than mandates, offering grants, preferential salaries, support for flexible work hours, and integrated training programs to encourage doctors to enter less popular but needed specialties. High-priority fields for aggressive expansion include vascular surgery, pediatric surgery, rehabilitation medicine, occupational medicine, emergency medicine, geriatrics, public health, nuclear medicine, psychiatry (especially child psychiatry), oncology, and neurology. The plan also aims for equal distribution of specialists across the country, addressing significant existing disparities through financial incentives and encouraging medical studies in underserved areas.