The Israel Healthcare Highlights Podcast

Do Consumers Really Understand Health Information? Join Bruce Rosen in a thought-provoking conversation with Professor Diane Levin-Zamir, one of Israel’s and the world’s leading voices in health promotion and literacy. In this episode, Professor Levin-Zamir shares insights from her decades of experience — from directing health promotion for Clalit Health Services to shaping national, international...

Join Bruce Rosen in this compelling interview with Professor Karl Skorecki, a distinguished leader in Israeli medical research and a pioneer in nephrology, genetics, and health equity. Professor Skorecki is a professor emeritus at both the Technion and Bar Ilan University. In this episode, Professor Skorecki shares the story behind a breakthrough discovery that links population genetics to kidney...

In this inspiring episode, Bruce Rosen sits down with Efrat Stern, the director of JDC-Israel Unlimited and of JDC-Israel's mental health initiative, to explore groundbreaking efforts to address Israel’s growing mental health crisis in the wake of October 7th. With over a decade of experience supporting people with disabilities, Stern now leads the organization’s national Mental Health Initiative—...

In this episode, Bruce Rosen hosts Dr. Sefi Mendlevic, Associate Director-General of Israel's Ministry of Health, for a timely conversation on the physician shortage crisis in Israel. Dr. Mendlovic—an emergency pediatrician and former chief medical officer at Shaare Zedek Medical Center—shares his personal journey, and then dives into the deep-rooted causes behind Israel’s growing need for physici...

In this episode Bruce Rosen interviews Professor Rivka Carmi, past-president of Ben-Gurion University, about the importance of physician-scientists and the initiatives to support them in Israel. Carmi discusses her work founding the Israel National Academy for Science and Medicine, the need for dedicated research time and infrastructure for clinicians, and recent programs like Mavri that fund phys...

In this episode Bruce interviews Iran Eshed, CEO and founder of Fairrtility, about applying AI, data science, and automation to IVF—transforming a traditionally manual field to improve consistency, outcomes, and patient experience. They discuss Israel's role as an IVF hub, global demand, the B2B clinic model, and the regulatory and clinical challenges of bringing AI into healthcare.

Bruce Rosen interviews Levy Shapiro, the founder of mHealth Israel, about Israel’s rapidly growing health tech ecosystem, its unique strengths—centralized data access, low-cost pilot sites, and strong R&D funding—and how Israeli startups are scaling solutions for health systems around the world. The episode highlights real examples of international collaboration, investment trends, and the pra...

This episode explores Clalit Health Services' advanced AI clinical systems that deliver proactive, population-level care—from predictive models embedded in primary care workflows to AI-assisted imaging and treatment recommendations. Professor Ron Balicer - Chief Innovation Officer and Deputy Director General at Clalit Health Services - explains how Clalit's research-to-practice approach, long-term...

Professor Shlomo Mor-Yosef explains how Israel’s four health plans (Kupot Cholim) operate within a government-funded system, where centralized financing meets decentralized delivery. He highlights how competition among the HMOs drives service improvements—digital care, accessible clinics, and expanded mental-health services—and keeps insurers responsive to patients who can easily switch plans. Dra...

This episode explores a telepharmacy pilot run by the Pharmaceutical Society of Israel: a simple phone-based call center that connects patients—especially the elderly—with pharmacists for medication advice, delivery help, and crisis support during emergencies. It also highlights efforts to promote pharmacists as healthcare providers through training, multilingual webinars, volunteer response durin...

In this conversation, Dr. Shira Fischer of Brookline, Massachusetts, shares her insights on the strengths of both the Israeli and US healthcare systems. She discusses her background, connections to Israel, and the impressive aspects of the Israeli healthcare system, including universal coverage and advanced electronic records. Dr. Fischer also highlights the strengths of the US system, such as exp...

For over 20 years, leading health economist Sherry Glied has been a member of the international advisory committee of the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute and its Smokler Center for Health Policy Research. In that role she has provided strategic advice both to Israel's Ministry of Health and to one of Israel's premier health policy research groups. Sherry Glied, Ph. D. was Dean of the Robert F. Wagne...

How can we train for one of the most emotionally difficult moments in healthcare? And how can technology help doctors, social workers, and mental health professionals become more precise, humane, and empathetic? In this compelling episode of Israel Healthcare Highlights, host Prof. Bruce Rosen is joined by Prof. Orit Karnieli-Miller, a global expert in healthcare communication and Endowed Chair in...

An interview with Professor Yonatan Halevy, president of the Shaare Zedek Medical Center. In view of the shortage in physician manpower in Israel, and the fact that 70% of licenses to practice medicine have been granted to Israelis graduating from foreign medical schools, the Minister of Education decided to appoint a committee chaired by Professor Halevy to set up criteria for opening new medical...

As a nurse and and a full professor at the University of Haifa’s Cheryl Spencer Department of Nursing, Prof. Shadmi offers a unique perspective on how nursing has evolved into a cornerstone of Israel’s healthcare system. The discussion highlights major milestones in Israel’s nursing landscape: the academicization of RN training, the emergence of advanced practice roles like nurse practitioners, an...