Digital health in Israel

Digitization is not just going from paper to the computer. It is a process that involves greater accessibility of data, new communication paradigms and the possibility of analyzing, processing and projecting.

This is what Israel did with its health model almost 30 years ago, generating a centralized information system to connect hospitals, offices and medical centers, allowing each doctor to access relevant patient health data at any point of care, from way to refine the diagnosis and choose the most appropriate treatment, saving time and money.

But even more important is that, thanks to the development of big-data, this large amount of accumulated data has allowed health authorities to identify trends, conduct research and plan solutions.

Thus, the accumulated data is analyzed to establish profiles of patients with a greater propensity to develop serious diseases, for example, cancer. And preventive medicine plans are designed for them, which could save their lives.

Naturally, the system is equipped with high standards in terms of data privacy and cybersecurity of information. Therefore, research is carried out on the basis of real patients and their relevant medical data, but without knowing their identities.

Thanks to this first digital revolution, Israel today has a public, universal, non-profit, efficient and high-quality health system. Not for nothing, the Better Life Index placed Israel above the OECD average in terms of user satisfaction with its health system, and this despite the fact that Israel has one of the lowest costs per patient in the world and that the system must take into account the cultural particularities of certain groups of the population, such as Orthodox Jews and Israeli Arabs.

Although digitalization allowed us to encourage multidimensional development of Israel's health system, the R&D&i (Research, Development and Innovation) factor has catapulted the standards even higher.

Thus, taking advantage of the fact that Israel allocates almost 5% of the national product to R&D&i, in 2018 a government plan was launched to focus resources, efforts and incentives to enhance the health ecosystem.

Thanks to this plan, in five years Israel became a center of health innovation, with more than 1,500 active startups, pioneering advances in predictive medicine, personalized healthcare, telehealth, big-data, artificial intelligence and more.

In fact, in 2022, Israel ranked sixth in the Global Healthcare Innovation Index, a position it has maintained consistently for several years.

But beyond the rankings, this five-year plan has put on the table several high-impact innovations, which have extended the footprint of the great discoveries of Israeli medical science.

Just as more than 40 years ago the Israeli doctor Michel Mirowski implanted the first portable defibrillator and in the early 90s the Israeli firm Medinol burst in with its coronary stents, in recent years several other disruptive health initiatives have emerged in Israel.

For example, Sniffphone is a tool developed by Professor Hossam Haick of the Technion, which simplifies the diagnosis process, through a complement that is installed on the cell phone and that allows diseases to be identified from the user's breath.

Another invention with great potential was developed by Professor Tal Dvir from Tel Aviv University, who has managed to 3D print a heart with human tissue and vessels, which opens the door to the production of hearts suitable for transplants.

On the disability level, Argo Medical Technologies' ReWalk allows paraplegics to stand, walk and even climb stairs, with the help of an “exoskeleton” robot.

For its part, Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital is working hard to grow organoids from cells from diseased organs, with the aim of testing new drugs and treatments until reaching a personalized solution that can be applied safely and effectively in the original patient's organ.

Several medical technologies developed in Israel are already in Chile. These include telemedicine devices, surgical lasers, dermocosmetics systems, assistance devices for the blind, non-invasive sterilization equipment for environments, electrical neuromodulation, telematic diagnosis, remote health monitoring, rapid tests, mobile devices for blood counts, among others. .

In short, Israel's experience sheds some light on the impact of innovation, not only to heal people, but also to prevent diseases, face health challenges, make health spending more efficient and focused, and deliver timely and efficient care.