Insights into the Israeli health care system. Reflections on a medical student's experience

A two-month visit to the Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel, provided an opportunity to investigate some aspects of that country's health care system. Observations on the Israeli health care system and on the populations served, with highlights on cultural, demographic, political, and historic factors, are essential to an understanding of health care in Israel. A detailed description of the organization and administration of services at the Chaim Sheba Medical Center may aid in this understanding. It is essential to our understanding of this health care system to realize that Israel is not a purely Western nation. To gain insight into the system, we must consider the nation's political and economic situation. Such an awareness is crucial to the study of any foreign health care system.