The Israel Healthcare Highlights Podcast

This episode introduces "conflict psychology," showing how people cope when danger is a constant and denial becomes a functional strategy to preserve daily life. It discusses why many struggled to prepare early in the recent war—not from apathy, but because acknowledging the threat was emotionally costly—and warns against framing preparedness solely through fear. The episode concludes that prepare...

This episode explores how Terem, a nationwide urgent care chain, operates in both peacetime and wartime through the perspective of Hannan Kranc, director of Terem’s southern region. Hannan describes Terem’s role in easing hospital crowding, the network of clinics across Israel, and the rapid adaptations made during the recent war—extending hours, opening temporary clinics, protecting staff and pat...

Kalaniyot is a faculty-led initiative that strengthens academic ties between leading U.S. universities and Israeli researchers while building a supportive campus community for Jewish and Israeli staff. Professor Mark Perzansky of Harvard Medical School discusses creating funded postdoctoral fellowships, and community support to counter isolation and promote scientific collaboration.

Avner Halperin, CEO of Shiba Impact, explains how Sheba Medical Center’s ARC Global Innovation Network trains clinicians to innovate, spins ideas into startups, and has grown an ecosystem of 120 companies worth $6 billion and employing 3,500 people. He shares concrete examples — a mitral valve replacement startup acquired by Edwards and an AI-based PTSD diagnostic built with Microsoft — and descri...

In this episode Dr. David Levine explains the "home hospital" model: delivering hospital-level care in patients' homes as a substitute for traditional inpatient stays. He outlines appropriate conditions, limitations, and evidence supporting better outcomes and cost savings.  Dr. Levine also discusses his work in Boston, collaborations with Israeli programs, and the role of technology and policy in...

This episode examines how Israel’s health system adapted after the October 7 attack, revealing both immense vulnerability and remarkable resilience. It traces three concentric responses: immediate life-saving care at hospitals like Soroka, rapid community-level adaptations such as Terem’s hotel clinics and the CoLab volunteer networks, and the long-term psychological echo with sharply increased PT...

Explore how Israels high-performing national health system delivers excellent outcomes but faces an urgent workforce crisis. This episode breaks down the systems structure, the 2019 policy shock that disrupted foreign-trained doctors, and the rapid reforms underway—new medical schools, expanded domestic training, advanced nursing roles, and novel leadership and mental health strategies. Learn how...

This episode explores how Israel combines universal health data, clinical validation sites, and targeted capital to accelerate health-tech innovation—from IVF AI to hospital‑embedded predictive care and AI mental‑health tools. Through seven expert interviews, we unpack the ecosystem’s structure, key examples (Sheba, CloudLit, Ferility), and lessons other countries can adapt to create proactive, da...

Welcome to the Deep Dive summarizing a YouTube playlist from Israel Healthcare Highlights that spotlights five interviews about Israel's global health contributions. We cover the explosive growth of Israeli health tech driven by 30 years of centralized health records, a precision medicine breakthrough tracing a genetic cause of kidney failure disparities, and scalable models for training global he...

A concise deep dive into Israel Healthcare Highlights (IHH): short, focused interviews with top clinicians, policymakers and innovators that show how Israel leverages centralized health data, precision medicine and rapid translational pipelines to accelerate treatments, AI tools and scalable care models. Highlights include a genetic discovery linked to kidney disease disparities, the creation of n...

  In this compelling episode of Israel Healthcare Highlights, host Bruce Rosen sits down with Dr. Zimmerman - Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health Department Head, at the Ministry of Health - to explore the remarkable legacy and future-forward advancements of  Israel’s preventive healthcare services for women and children. Dr. Zimmerman shares the rich history of Tipat Halav clinics—Israel’s mat...

Join us for an inspiring conversation with Professor Naim Shehadeh of Bar-Ilan University, director of the Russell Berrie Galilee Diabetes SPHERE program, and president of the Israel Diabetes Association. In this interview, Professor Shehadeh shares the groundbreaking work being done to combat diabetes disparities in Israel’s Galilee region, where rates of diabetes and poor metabolic control are s...

The Israeli health care system achieves outstanding health outcomes at low cost. The seven vital ingredients of this success story are: 1. A combination of centralized government financing and non-governmental delivery 2. A combination of competition and regulation 3. A leading in the effective use of health IT 4. A strong system of primary care 5. An ability to set strategic goals and mobilize ac...

One of the greatest strengths of Israeli healthcare is its ability to identify relevant innovations in other countries and adapt them to Israel. Drawing on over 30 years of experience, Professor Bruce Rosen shares insights into how Israeli health leaders—from government policymakers to hospital CEOs—actively seek out international solutions and tailor them to meet local needs. Based on 20 compelli...

This six minute podcast highlights the strong representation of Israeli Arabs in key health professions (medicine, dentistry, nursing, and pharmacy) and explores the factors that have contributed to this important accomplishment. It is based on a study that was carried out by Bruce Rosen of the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem along with Sami Miaari of Tel Aviv...

In this episode of Israel Healthcare Highlights, Bruce Rosen sits down with Professor Nachman Ash, Chair of the Executive Committee of Israel’s National Institute for Health Policy Research. With a distinguished career which includes serving as Director General of the Ministry of Health and Surgeon General of the IDF, Prof. Ash offers a deep dive into the Institute’s pivotal role in shaping Israel...

Promoting health care equity is both important and challenging. Clearly, to promote equity and to monitor progress, there is a vital need for good measures of equity. In this powerful episode of Israel Healthcare Highlights, Bruce Rosen speaks about equity measurement with Professor Rachel Wilf-Miron of Tel Aviv University and the Gertner Institute. Professor Wilf-Miron is a pediatrician, public h...

What happens when nutrition meets policy, and businesses shape the food landscape? In this eye-opening episode, Bruce Rosen sits down with Professor Ronit Endevelt—renowned nutritionist, University of Haifa professor, and former head of Israel’s Ministry of Health Nutrition Department—for a deep dive into the forces shaping public health. Drawing from her decades of experience, Endevelt shares how...

Soroka Medical Center is on the frontlines of crisis and care. In this compelling interview, Bruce Rosen speaks with Dr. Shlomi Codish, Director General of Soroka Medical Center, about the hospital’s extraordinary role during Israel’s recent crises. From treating thousands of casualties after the October 7th terror attacks to surviving a direct missile strike from Iran, Soroka has remained a lifel...

In this episode, Bruce Rosen welcomes Professor Benjamin Dekel, a global leader in regenerative medicine, from Sheba Medical Center and Tel Aviv University. As Chair of Pediatric Nephrology and Director of the Pediatric Stem Cell Research Institute, Professor Dekel shares groundbreaking insights into kidney regeneration and the future of medical science. Learn how his team became the first to isol...

In this inspiring episode, Bruce Rosen from Hebrew University sits down with Dr. Maurit Beeri, Director General of ALYN Hospital—Israel’s premier pediatric rehabilitation center. Discover Dr. Beeri’s heartfelt journey from pediatrician to hospital CEO, sparked by a powerful moment that changed her career path forever. Nearly a century after its founding, ALYN Hospital continues to lead groundbreak...

In this episode of Israel Healthcare Highlights, host Bruce Rosen speaks with Professor Bruria Adini, head of the Emergency and Disaster Management Department at Tel Aviv University, about the evolving concept of resilience in Israeli society. Prof. Adini discusses her team’s groundbreaking research that tracks resilience across multiple crises—from COVID-19 and political unrest to the ongoing war...

Join Bruce Rosen as he sits down with Professor Shlomo Vinker, a leading expert in family medicine, for an engaging discussion on primary care in Israel. As a board-certified family physician, the chief medical officer at Leumit Health Services, and chair of the European Association of Family Doctors (WONCA), Professor Vinker shares his unique insights on the structure of primary care, the rise of...

In this episode, Bruce Rosen is joined by Professor Clarfield,  of Ben- Gurion University of the Negev and McGill University, for a compelling conversation about global aging and Israel’s unique role in improving geriatric care in low-income countries. With decades of experience in the care of older persons and global health education, Prof. Clarfield shares his firsthand observations from Ethiopi...

In this important episode, Bruce Rosen interviews Adv. Malke Borow, the Director of the Division of Law and Policy at the Israel Medical Association. In an era of growing antisemitism abroad and an impending physician shortage in Israel, more and more physicians are making aliya (i.e. immigrating to Israel).  Find out how the Israeli Medical Association works before, during and after this process...