What are the new quality metrics for hospitals in Israel?

Israel’s leading hospitals: Health Ministry publishes new quality metrics report

The Health Ministry recently released its annual quality metrics report for hospitals in Israel for 2023. This report reflects the level of care in medical centers across Israel for a wide range of life-threatening medical conditions.

Dr. Anat Ekka Zohar initiated the national quality metrics program about 11 years ago. The program’s goal is to display the quality of medical care in Israel by measuring various parameters. Initially examining five metrics, the program has expanded to measure 82 parameters over the years.

This year, new metrics were introduced, including preventive antibiotic treatment for knee or hip replacement surgeries, chemotherapy treatment for colon cancer patients, vascular physician consultation before diabetic foot amputation, and telephone guidance for performing CPR. Unlike previous years, the ministry decided not to give an overall score to hospitals this year, following complaints that these scores damage their reputation. Therefore, scores for each test parameter were published separately.

Key findings of the report

Emergency Rooms: The health ministry set a target for triage speed: the nurse check-up time in the emergency room should not exceed 12 minutes. The fastest hospital is Laniado Hospital in Netanya, with an average triage time of 4 minutes. Other top hospitals include the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya (5 minutes) and Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv (6 minutes). Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon exceeded the target with a 13-minute wait.

Stroke: The health ministry stated that the time from hospital entry to performing a CT or MRI scan for suspected stroke patients should not exceed 25 minutes. Hospitals exceeding this target include Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot (62 minutes) and Holy Family Hospital in Nazareth (31 minutes). The fastest hospitals are Assuta Hospital in Ashdod (19 minutes) and Hadassah Ein Kerem in Jerusalem (21 minutes).

Infant Vaccinations: The report revealed significant gaps between the health ministry’s targets and actual care in Well-Baby Clinics (Tipat Halav). The lowest vaccination rates were found in the Leumit Health Fund and Well-Baby Clinics of the Jerusalem Municipality.

Pregnant Women: Only Clalit Health Services and Maccabi Healthcare Services met the health ministry’s target of 90% for identifying women suffering from postpartum depression. Other clinics scored low in performing postpartum depression assessments.

Health Minister Uriel Boso stated, “As we learn lessons and draw necessary conclusions, we can continue to strengthen the healthcare system and improve care.” Additionally, Health Ministry Director General Moshe Bar Siman Tov commented on the mobilization of the healthcare system to treat war casualties, noting that medical teams managed to meet all metrics similar to the previous year.