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Spotlight on the Dos and Don’ts of navigating the Israeli Health Care System (Oct. 2026)
Spotlight on the Dos and Don’ts of navigating the Israeli Health Care System (Oct. 2026)
Nefesh B'Nefesh
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2 weeks ago • 1 hour and 18 min
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Transcript
[00:00]
Hi everyone. We're back. I thought that
[00:03]
I could perhaps figure something out
[00:05]
with my technological abilities, which I
[00:08]
couldn't. Um, but that's okay. We're
[00:11]
going to begin anyway because now
[00:13]
according to my computer, it's 8:02. And
[00:17]
if you have ever heard me speak before,
[00:20]
I certainly very much respect your time
[00:24]
and hope that you will respect
[00:26]
everyone's time this evening as we
[00:29]
discuss something sensitive, important,
[00:33]
confusing,
[00:35]
frustrating. You you pick an adjective
[00:37]
that works for you. But certainly I hope
[00:40]
by the end of this evening you will feel
[00:44]
if nothing else less frustrated. My name
[00:47]
is Miriam Neon. I'm a senior adviser at
[00:50]
Nefesh Benesh and I am joined by another
[00:53]
senior adviser at Zippy Openenheimimer.
[00:56]
Tippy is going to be managing the chat
[00:59]
the next to the scenes not behind the
[01:02]
scenes. Cippy and I have worked together
[01:04]
for many, many years.
[01:07]
And your questions and comments and any
[01:09]
links and important information is going
[01:12]
to be listed in the chat. Now, this is a
[01:16]
topic that's important to everyone. You
[01:18]
wouldn't be here if it wasn't important
[01:20]
to you. But I ask you please instead of
[01:24]
asking asking asking asking your
[01:26]
questions, try to just take a moment and
[01:30]
wait to see if I'm going to address some
[01:33]
of those concerns throughout the
[01:35]
presentation. What I would like to share
[01:38]
is that this is not a navigating the
[01:43]
health care system pre-alia
[01:45]
presentation. This is significantly more
[01:49]
for all of you who have already made
[01:51]
aliyah and now like okay you get the
[01:55]
basics maybe but what are some of the
[01:59]
unwritten
[02:01]
concepts of navigating my katim that
[02:04]
nobody was able to tell me and that's
[02:06]
why we entitled this the dos and don'ts
[02:08]
of navigating the healthcare system
[02:11]
because while you may end up going to
[02:13]
the mlet and spending three shekele more
[02:16]
on your humos. Making a mistake with
[02:18]
your healthcare is just not something
[02:20]
that any of us ever want to experience.
[02:25]
Depending on the size of the group that
[02:27]
joins us, we will open either the floor
[02:31]
or Tibby will share different questions
[02:33]
in the chat at the end of the
[02:36]
presentation. Tipp certainly going to
[02:38]
interrupt if something wasn't clear,
[02:40]
something needs to be repeated. And
[02:43]
because we have worked together for so
[02:45]
many years, she I have no doubt will
[02:48]
also be very valuable in adding
[02:50]
information that perhaps I could have
[02:54]
added and and missed. With that, we're
[02:57]
going to begin. I'm going to share my
[02:59]
screen so that you see my presentation.
[03:03]
Now, for some reason with Zoom, I can't
[03:06]
see you and the presentation and so I
[03:10]
apologize, Tippy. I will leave it to you
[03:13]
to please um bring to my attention
[03:16]
anything that needs to be brought to my
[03:19]
attention. And now
[03:24]
I would like to make sure that you all
[03:28]
see my slide. The dos and don'ts of
[03:30]
navigating the Israeli healthcare
[03:32]
system. Do you see the slide
[03:36]
to be?
[03:40]
>> Yes. Sorry, I have to unmute myself.
[03:42]
Yes, we do. Thank you.
[03:44]
>> Okay, just a reminder, as Tippy wrote in
[03:46]
the chat already, this event is being
[03:50]
recorded and you might want to listen to
[03:53]
it again. You might want to share it
[03:54]
with a friend and hearing the dog bark,
[03:57]
hearing the phone ring, hearing what
[03:59]
someone's eating for dinner, it's just
[04:02]
unpleasant. So, please do keep
[04:04]
yourselves muted. Please do use the
[04:06]
chat. And I apologize that as Zoom has
[04:11]
changed something about their format,
[04:13]
I'm not able to see all of you while I
[04:16]
do this presentation.
[04:18]
There were many very very good questions
[04:20]
and comments that were shared with us um
[04:23]
prior to this webinar this evening. I am
[04:26]
going to touch upon many of them during
[04:29]
the course of the presentation. I'm not
[04:32]
necessarily going to go through each one
[04:35]
as a separate question. What I would
[04:39]
like to remind you though is this is
[04:41]
called an open forum with a spotlight.
[04:44]
We have so many open forums every month
[04:48]
that spotlight a certain topic. The next
[04:51]
one is going to be on travel
[04:53]
documentation and we will have one on
[04:55]
banking and and and we will have another
[04:57]
one on healthcare and alumi and so many
[05:01]
of those topics that are really
[05:06]
different than what you may have been
[05:08]
used to whether you came from the
[05:09]
states, from Canada, from another
[05:11]
country but it it's it's hard to just
[05:16]
keep it all together and remember what
[05:19]
it is that you really really want to get
[05:22]
out of what any system has to offer you.
[05:26]
And certainly nobody wants to feel like
[05:29]
that frier. Nobody wants to feel like
[05:32]
everybody knows except for you. And we
[05:35]
all know that as a new Ole whether
[05:38]
you've been here a few months, whether
[05:40]
you've been here a year, some of you
[05:43]
have been here longer than that. I see
[05:45]
that the mom of one of our previous
[05:48]
co-workers has joined us and it's nice
[05:50]
to see you. Um, it doesn't matter how
[05:52]
long you live here. Life brings us new
[05:55]
experiences. So sometimes just when you
[05:57]
think, okay, I got this. I know how to
[06:00]
navigate whatever system it might be.
[06:03]
Life throws you a curveball and then you
[06:06]
need to learn a whole new way of
[06:08]
navigating something. You need to learn
[06:10]
a whole new host of vocabulary. You need
[06:13]
to learn a whole new host of resources
[06:17]
and and that takes time and that takes
[06:20]
patience. That also takes a little bit
[06:22]
of humility to say, "Hi, I need help."
[06:26]
And when we make aliyah, you know, some
[06:28]
of you have heard me speak before. I
[06:30]
always like to say that making aliyah is
[06:32]
very exciting, but immigrating is hard.
[06:36]
And sometimes we always feel like that
[06:38]
immigrant. I live here 30 years. I come
[06:41]
up against new things and I'm like, huh,
[06:43]
I have no idea. But the truth is the
[06:46]
Israeli on the street also doesn't know
[06:48]
because I don't have that experience in
[06:51]
the past. What they do have that we
[06:53]
don't always feel that we have is
[06:55]
language and culture. And that's
[06:58]
actually going to be my segue into
[07:02]
making the system work for you. We often
[07:05]
feel that we ourselves put up some sort
[07:09]
of barrier that says we speak English
[07:12]
and we don't understand. And the truth
[07:15]
is is that you may understand more than
[07:18]
you think. But also within the medical
[07:20]
system, people understand a lot more
[07:23]
English than they may realize and that
[07:26]
you may realize. It doesn't mean that
[07:28]
you should now go and choose a physician
[07:31]
that doesn't speak any English or that
[07:35]
his or her English is broken. But what
[07:38]
it does mean is give yourself a lot more
[07:41]
credit than you often give your self
[07:44]
credit for. And being a new Olette,
[07:47]
being a new immigrant doesn't mean that
[07:49]
your head is in uh in the ground, you
[07:53]
know, like an ostrich. It means that I
[07:55]
remember that I stood on two feet in my
[07:58]
country of origin. I remember that if
[08:00]
something didn't feel good, if it didn't
[08:02]
feel right, it probably wasn't. And
[08:04]
now's the time for me to ask a question.
[08:08]
You, no one was appointed a physician, a
[08:11]
family physician, a family doctor.
[08:13]
Everyone had the ability to choose their
[08:16]
own. Some of you might have said eeny
[08:18]
meenie miny mo. I sort of hope not. And
[08:21]
if you have yet to choose a family
[08:24]
physician, I encourage you to do so and
[08:27]
make an appointment to see him. I'm
[08:29]
going to use um uh him instead of her
[08:33]
instead of him and her. I'm just going
[08:35]
to use him, not for any reason, just
[08:38]
because it's easier for me. That is a
[08:41]
disclaimer. Um, so, uh, you had your
[08:46]
choice and maybe you did research and
[08:50]
maybe youworked with others and maybe
[08:52]
you just sort of asked the secretary
[08:55]
when you went to go sign up, finish up
[08:57]
your registration and get your card who
[08:59]
speaks English and that's the doctor
[09:01]
that you chose. And you know what? You
[09:04]
didn't really get on with that doctor.
[09:06]
Whoever thought that they were great,
[09:08]
not so great for you. And we know that
[09:10]
that happens. Everything is personal
[09:12]
when it comes to a service provider. You
[09:14]
have the opportunity to switch that
[09:17]
doctor. One is meant to stay with their
[09:21]
doctor of choice for a quarter for 3
[09:23]
months. However, if there's a reason
[09:25]
that you need to switch, they don't
[09:27]
speak your language, whether that's an
[09:29]
emotional language or cultural language
[09:31]
or verbally, they simply literally don't
[09:34]
speak your language. or the availability
[09:37]
is not what you're looking for. Whatever
[09:40]
it may be, you tell the secretary, you
[09:42]
know what, this this isn't working. I
[09:44]
thought Dr. X was going to be for me.
[09:46]
He's not. And I would like to switch to
[09:49]
and you'll already be able to provide a
[09:52]
different doctor. Not to say, I can't
[09:54]
see this doctor again. They'll want to
[09:56]
know who who are you switching to.
[09:58]
These are some of the things that we're
[10:00]
going to be discussing today about real
[10:03]
time of navigating the medical system,
[10:06]
about managing emergencies and urgent
[10:08]
care, about therapeutic needs, pediatric
[10:12]
needs, even though I'm not sure that
[10:13]
that is something that everyone here is
[10:16]
concerned about, but there may be others
[10:19]
who have joined. Like I said, I'm sorry
[10:21]
I can't see who's who has joined, so I
[10:23]
will touch on it. And of course, digital
[10:26]
services. Some of you might say h
[10:29]
digital services this country everything
[10:32]
is an app and everything is a website
[10:35]
and that's true we are a very digital
[10:38]
oriented society but let's see about
[10:41]
making the system work with you and for
[10:46]
you. So we spoke a little bit about
[10:48]
choosing a physician and switching
[10:50]
physicians. This includes specialists as
[10:54]
well. Um, so now your doctor has said,
[10:58]
"I would like you to go see whatever
[11:00]
specialist you might need." What do you
[11:03]
need to see this specialist? How should
[11:05]
you choose the specialist? Do you need
[11:07]
to see a specialist right within your
[11:10]
clinic setting? Can if you're living in
[11:12]
Jerusalem, can you go see that
[11:14]
specialist in Modí and Raana and
[11:17]
Beamesh? H how does it work? This is
[11:20]
where you have the opportunity to be
[11:24]
proactive.
[11:25]
Ask and when we don't ask questions, it
[11:28]
is assumed that we know the answer. So
[11:31]
you ask who do you suggest Dr. So and so
[11:34]
and why do you suggest that doctor? Do
[11:37]
they speak English? What is your
[11:39]
experience with that doctor? What's your
[11:41]
relationship with that doctor? Why why
[11:43]
are you suggesting that particular
[11:45]
doctor? How do you make an appointment
[11:48]
with that specialist? Chances are good
[11:50]
that your doctor won't know. Um, and
[11:53]
this happens all over the world is that
[11:55]
the secretary is the one who really
[11:57]
holds the keys to the inner workings of
[12:00]
the office. Happens everywhere.
[12:03]
And so now you can go to the secretary
[12:05]
and say, I need to go see this
[12:08]
specialist, Professor Soandso, and how
[12:12]
do I make an appointment here in the
[12:14]
Koopa? And and the secretary might tell
[12:17]
you. And then you are going to make that
[12:20]
appointment probably using the website
[12:23]
or using your app and um and you find
[12:28]
out that the doctor will only see you
[12:32]
within the Koopa clinic in another 3
[12:35]
months. Now you might not care. That
[12:38]
could be fine. The doctor wasn't
[12:40]
concerned. This is just something that
[12:42]
he wants you to consider seeing. That's
[12:45]
okay. You can wait the three months or
[12:48]
not. You don't want to wait three
[12:50]
months. You don't even want to wait two
[12:52]
months. You would like to not even
[12:54]
sometimes wait until tomorrow. The
[12:56]
doctor said something and now you're
[12:58]
concerned. So, your doctor will
[13:00]
hopefully be the one to really tell you
[13:03]
your level of concern so that your level
[13:06]
of anxiety can either stay at bay or be
[13:10]
raised, god forbid. But you have the
[13:14]
opportunity if you have supplemental
[13:17]
insurance to use something called
[13:20]
sharap. Sh h a r a p as in peter. Sharap
[13:25]
stands for shirut rifui prati private
[13:30]
medical care. This is something that's
[13:32]
available through all kupot with what is
[13:36]
called supplemental insurance. If you
[13:39]
attended, if you ever listened to the
[13:41]
pre-alia webinars on healthcare, this
[13:44]
should already be something that's
[13:46]
familiar to you. And supplemental health
[13:49]
care offers you a variety of services
[13:52]
with the first level offering you an
[13:55]
array of medical services and the second
[13:59]
level enhancing some of those medical
[14:01]
services as well as adding lifestyle
[14:05]
services such as um a gym, such as
[14:10]
different holistic care like
[14:12]
acupuncture, things like that. a lot of
[14:14]
different services, but it's the first
[14:16]
level that broadens your medical
[14:20]
abilities in utilizing what the kopat
[14:22]
khim has to offer for you. The sharat
[14:27]
services have a certain number of times
[14:31]
that you can use that service throughout
[14:33]
a calendar year based on the level of
[14:37]
supplemental insurance that you have and
[14:39]
based on your katim.
[14:42]
So with many the first level will offer
[14:46]
you four times a year to use the sharap
[14:50]
service. It can be for the same uh
[14:54]
service, the same specialty or or not.
[14:58]
You might go years without using the
[15:00]
sharab service and then for whatever
[15:02]
reason find yourself using it a bit
[15:05]
more. It's per person in your family,
[15:08]
not on a family unit.
[15:12]
The sharab service is usually something
[15:15]
that is utilized in a hospital setting
[15:17]
or in a more private setting. In order
[15:21]
for your katim to take financial
[15:23]
participation for that service, you are
[15:27]
going to look on the website of your
[15:29]
katim
[15:31]
under that specialty and you have two
[15:35]
options. either to see those doctors who
[15:39]
are in the clinic or it's going to say
[15:42]
something in English such as um either
[15:45]
private or added fees, something to that
[15:49]
effect. And there you can see what I'll
[15:53]
call a private physician because they
[15:55]
are private. You are going to have a
[15:57]
financial participation. sometimes 200
[16:00]
shekel, sometimes up to 350 shekel
[16:04]
depending on the physician and that is
[16:08]
how you can have that financial
[16:09]
participation. Now you don't care. You
[16:13]
want to see the best that the country
[16:15]
has to offer whether he is connected to
[16:18]
your katim or not and that's your
[16:20]
prerogative but you will pay out of
[16:22]
pocket whatever that private fee is very
[16:26]
often around 134500
[16:29]
checkout but but that is your
[16:32]
prerogative. I'm going to make a very
[16:35]
small note here about private insurance.
[16:39]
Many people asked about private
[16:41]
insurance. Private insurance is
[16:43]
something very separate from your katim.
[16:46]
It is offered to you by an insurance
[16:48]
agent or an insurance company such as
[16:51]
Harel or Minora. And whereas the katim
[16:56]
as a statef funded insurance doesn't
[16:59]
care how old you are and your
[17:01]
pre-existing conditions as you know had
[17:04]
no bearing at all on the highest level
[17:07]
of supplemental care that you were able
[17:09]
to receive.
[17:11]
When it comes to private health care,
[17:13]
there is um there are forms and there is
[17:17]
review and what is your health care
[17:19]
looking like for you to be eligible for
[17:22]
private health care. It's important to
[17:26]
do your homework to understand why
[17:28]
should you have private health care if
[17:31]
you have supplemental health care. for
[17:34]
the over 80% of the Israeli population
[17:37]
that has supplemental health care
[17:40]
significantly less than that has private
[17:44]
health care in part due to cost in part
[17:47]
due to eligibility and in part due to
[17:51]
the fact that they feel that the katim
[17:53]
will be able to manage their needs. I
[17:56]
don't want to get too far off on a
[17:58]
tangent, but a lot of people did ask me
[18:00]
about private insurance.
[18:02]
>> Miriam, can can you can you also just
[18:05]
clarify a teeny bit more? Two questions
[18:08]
were were written in when you said
[18:10]
Sharp, is that the same thing? The
[18:12]
questions same thing as Makabi Shali or
[18:14]
or Gold Platinum. What the what is
[18:19]
the difference or what is what is not
[18:20]
the difference between the supplemental
[18:22]
health insurance and the shrub?
[18:24]
Excellent question. So um the the two
[18:28]
kupotin that were mentioned Macabi and
[18:32]
Clalit
[18:33]
their supplemental plans is what Sippy
[18:37]
mentioned. I'm going to share with you
[18:40]
that Makabi has two levels of
[18:42]
supplemental care. The first being
[18:44]
Makabi Zahab, the second being Makabi
[18:48]
Shali. Clalit has mushlam and platinum.
[18:53]
Uh
[18:54]
has Adif and C and Leit has I apologize
[18:59]
I forget what Leit's two supplemental
[19:02]
names are but they also have their two
[19:06]
levels of supplemental care. That is not
[19:09]
what I was referring to in terms of
[19:12]
Sharp. Sharp is a service that you have
[19:16]
eligibility to use once you have the
[19:20]
supplemental plan. So sharp is a
[19:23]
service. It's not a type of insurance.
[19:26]
It's a service within the um insurance
[19:31]
that you have within the supplemental
[19:33]
insurance that you have. Is that clear?
[19:38]
>> Yes. Thank you. And lumit is lumit
[19:40]
silver and lumit gold.
[19:42]
>> Excellent. Oh, that's a lot easier. Um,
[19:45]
I don't know if you can see me while I'm
[19:48]
speaking because all I see is my
[19:51]
presentation.
[19:56]
>> You can also see you. We can also see
[19:58]
you.
[19:58]
>> Okay, good. Excellent. Um, people have a
[20:02]
lot more questions. I know they do. I
[20:04]
have it here in front of me as I do the
[20:07]
presentation so that I work very hard on
[20:10]
not missing anything that you have
[20:12]
asked.
[20:14]
So, we're still talking about the four
[20:16]
walls of your local clinic. Now, your
[20:19]
local clinic might be next door and and
[20:22]
that's great. You like the doctors
[20:24]
there, everything works for you, but you
[20:26]
also might decide to go to the clinic
[20:28]
down the street. And with most of the
[20:30]
kotim, you have that wiggle room. You
[20:34]
have that ability to be as mobile as you
[20:37]
wish. When we talk about physician
[20:40]
availability, and this is the last thing
[20:42]
I'm going to say about physicians
[20:44]
specifically because somebody wrote that
[20:47]
they have a hard time getting a doctor's
[20:49]
appointment. And I will take that as a
[20:51]
family physician, not necessarily a
[20:54]
specialist.
[20:56]
And you might either decide you'd like
[21:00]
to look into another doctor because
[21:03]
yeah, you know what? My doctor is so
[21:05]
popular. He fills up very quickly. My
[21:08]
doctor doesn't come in every day. My
[21:11]
doctor only works in the afternoon and
[21:14]
only some mornings and that doesn't work
[21:16]
for me. Again, remember the two feet
[21:19]
that you made aliyah with that you
[21:22]
immigrated with. And these are the two
[21:24]
feet that you have to make independent
[21:28]
solid decisions that work for you. I'll
[21:32]
take a quick commercial break to mention
[21:36]
our our some of our services that we
[21:39]
have in the post aliad department and
[21:42]
one of them is our translation station
[21:44]
service and it is what it sounds like
[21:47]
it's for translation services not for
[21:50]
anything legal we're not accountants
[21:52]
we're not lawyers but we've spoken
[21:55]
already for the past several minutes
[21:56]
about websites and doctors and switching
[22:00]
and how does that work and it's in
[22:02]
Hebrew and I can Google translate but
[22:04]
it's page by page and I'm just
[22:06]
frustrated. So come into our Jerusalem
[22:09]
office, come into our Tel Aviv office
[22:12]
and we'll sit with you and we will go
[22:14]
through your personal app or your
[22:17]
personal website so that we can help you
[22:20]
navigate and lower that level of
[22:23]
frustration for you.
[22:27]
Okay, last last thing about switching.
[22:30]
Some people say, "I don't like my
[22:31]
doctor, so I want to switch my Koopa. I
[22:33]
want to switch my provider." Again, you
[22:37]
have the opportunity to switch
[22:38]
physicians. It doesn't mean that you
[22:41]
need to switch your provider. If you do
[22:44]
need to switch your provider, be in
[22:46]
touch with us so that we can share with
[22:49]
you the smoothest way, not always the
[22:52]
easiest, but the smoothest way for you
[22:55]
to manage that particular
[22:58]
um program uh to be able to switch.
[23:03]
Okay. Lab work. If you ever had to have
[23:06]
lab work, you might need to make an
[23:09]
appointment for the nurses station. You
[23:12]
might not need to. It depends on your
[23:14]
Koopa. It not only depends on your
[23:16]
Koopa, but it might depend on the
[23:18]
location of your Koopa. I did not go to
[23:20]
my regular clinic. I went to a different
[23:23]
one in the city where I live. And I saw
[23:25]
a nice little note that said starting
[23:28]
whatever date it was, blood work was
[23:30]
going to be drawn from 7:30 till 10:30.
[23:34]
Like, wow, 10:30. That is unbelievable
[23:38]
because in many clinics is from 7:30 to
[23:41]
9:30. And so just because you're with
[23:44]
your katim and you're talking to your
[23:46]
friend in a different town and you're
[23:48]
like, "Isn't it great? I just went at
[23:50]
10:00 and they're like, "What are you
[23:52]
talking about? My local lab is only
[23:55]
until this hour." So, it really is
[23:58]
important to remember in everything that
[24:00]
we're discussing to then go ahead and
[24:04]
discuss what you've heard, what you've
[24:06]
learned, what your new questions are. I
[24:08]
hope today also brings up other
[24:10]
questions for you. Go to your kotaleim
[24:13]
with a piece of paper and say, "Okay, so
[24:16]
what do you got for me? What do you have
[24:18]
to offer? What this? What that?" Again,
[24:21]
you are being proactive.
[24:25]
Lab work includes blood work. It might
[24:29]
include X-rays. It might include um an
[24:33]
EKG. It might include a lot of different
[24:36]
things that can happen within your
[24:39]
Koopa. Not sure how to get it done. you
[24:43]
not sure if you're going to need a
[24:45]
referral or are you just going to have a
[24:48]
piece of paper that your doctor is going
[24:51]
to print out for you? Now, I'll tell
[24:52]
you, I recently went to a doctor and a
[24:56]
certain specialist. And I was ready as
[24:58]
she told me all the things that I needed
[25:00]
to do to hear the printer go. And then I
[25:03]
noticed she didn't even have a printer.
[25:04]
And because she's younger than I am, she
[25:07]
said boom boom boom boom boom on her
[25:09]
computer. She said, "Okay, everything is
[25:11]
now in your portal of your Kath Holim."
[25:15]
And she was 100% correct, including what
[25:18]
I needed for the blood work, including
[25:20]
everything. And as I've already
[25:22]
mentioned, we're very digitized. And
[25:25]
that's why sometimes you go to the
[25:27]
doctor and they're looking at you, but
[25:29]
they're typing. And how how unpersonal
[25:33]
does that make you feel? I'm trying to
[25:35]
tell you what hurts, what els me, and
[25:37]
all you're doing is typing on your
[25:39]
computer. So again, you might say, you
[25:42]
know what, this doctor is not for me. It
[25:44]
really bothers me when he does that. Or
[25:47]
you might say, "I realize that he's
[25:49]
doing that because now when I go to get
[25:53]
a certain test done," or I go to the
[25:56]
specialist, they're going to be able to
[25:59]
see what my family doctor wrote in my
[26:03]
TEIK in my file so that there's
[26:06]
communication. Or let's say my doctor's
[26:09]
out of town. He's on vacation and I got
[26:12]
sick and I need to go see the person
[26:14]
covering for him. that doctor can open
[26:17]
my file and see that I take these
[26:20]
medications. The doctor was also
[26:22]
concerned about whatever it might have
[26:24]
been when I saw him last. It's
[26:27]
overcommunication that is to your
[26:30]
benefit.
[26:32]
What is the nurse's role? Many many
[26:34]
years ago, there was a gentleman who
[26:36]
called me up and forgot to say hello and
[26:40]
sort of found his yelling voice and
[26:42]
said, "What is it with this country?" I
[26:45]
go to the doctor and he doesn't give me
[26:48]
a whole workup. He doesn't give me a
[26:50]
physical. He doesn't check my check my
[26:52]
blood pressure. He doesn't check me from
[26:54]
head to toe. And I said, well, Mr. So
[26:58]
and So, who was a lovely lovely man, I
[27:00]
said, generally people do not go to
[27:04]
doctors here for an annual physical. You
[27:08]
go to the doctor here when you're sick.
[27:10]
You go to the doctor here when you have
[27:12]
a need. You might have family history.
[27:15]
You come of a certain age and you say,
[27:17]
"You know what? I would like to get a
[27:19]
baseline on certain uh issues because
[27:23]
this was this is my family history." Of
[27:25]
course, all precancer testing is covered
[27:28]
by the kotim all precancer testing. And
[27:32]
if you haven't had yours, make sure to
[27:34]
speak to your doctor about it depending
[27:36]
on your age or your family history. But
[27:39]
your nurse, your local nurse can also
[27:43]
check your blood pressure can also
[27:47]
um go to the doctor and say, "Listen,
[27:50]
she came in for something and I'm not I
[27:53]
don't like the way she's breathing and I
[27:56]
would like you to see her." And the
[27:58]
doctor might send you out to the waiting
[28:00]
room and the doctor will call you in.
[28:03]
The nurse has a lot of different
[28:05]
responsibilities,
[28:07]
really so much more than in many
[28:09]
countries abroad. And she has good
[28:12]
communication with the doctor's offices.
[28:16]
The nurse also might be the one to take
[28:18]
out stitches. The nurse also might be
[28:20]
the one to clean a wound. You might not
[28:22]
necessarily go to the doctor for that in
[28:25]
any way, shape, or form.
[28:29]
What about care at home? This was
[28:32]
something that was brought up um many
[28:34]
times in the questions that were asked
[28:37]
previous to the webinar. So there is
[28:40]
through your katim at no extra charge
[28:44]
nursing and medical and therapeutic care
[28:47]
at home. What does that mean? That means
[28:50]
that god forbid you or someone in your
[28:53]
family is now in a in a position that
[28:56]
they are not mobile. They are not able
[28:59]
to get to the katim. Perhaps they are
[29:02]
after surgery, perhaps they are at end
[29:05]
stage of a certain disease, whatever it
[29:08]
may be. All one needs either if they've
[29:12]
been in the hospital, the uh release
[29:14]
letter, the discharge letter, sometimes
[29:18]
it's funny that we translate things
[29:20]
literally, the discharge letter from the
[29:22]
hospital will already tell the kupatim
[29:26]
this person needs to have care at home
[29:29]
and will specify what that care is. if
[29:33]
not all you need. And I say all that it
[29:37]
makes it sound easy, but it really
[29:39]
shouldn't be hard at all. It may
[29:42]
necessitate a visit into the clinic to
[29:44]
speak to the secretary because sometimes
[29:47]
you don't want to communicate with your
[29:49]
doctor through the app, which of course
[29:51]
is something that you can do. The app
[29:54]
has so many wonderful properties to it.
[29:56]
We're going to discuss it a little bit
[29:58]
later, but sometimes it's really best to
[30:00]
sit down and say, "This is where this
[30:03]
person in my family has been and this is
[30:06]
what they need." And it might be a nurse
[30:09]
to come in to take blood work or to
[30:11]
change a dressing. It may be a doctor to
[30:14]
come in or it may be OT or PT at home.
[30:21]
Now there is also if god forbid somebody
[30:24]
breaks a hip, somebody has a certain
[30:26]
type of surgery and now they need
[30:29]
rehabilitation at home. I guess that
[30:32]
could come under therapeutic care but
[30:34]
this is something even more because
[30:37]
rehab is going to be sometimes every day
[30:40]
depending on what the situation is and
[30:42]
that also happens at home through your
[30:46]
katim at no extra charge. The last thing
[30:50]
I would like to mention here is that
[30:53]
there are also outsource resources. I'm
[30:56]
going to only mention one and it is
[30:58]
called Natalie like the name Natalie.
[31:02]
And this is a service that one pays for.
[31:05]
And you can call Natalie and say this is
[31:09]
how I'm feeling. I'm not sure if I'm
[31:12]
feeling right. I'm not sure this. I'm
[31:14]
not sure that. They work within your
[31:16]
kupatim and will send medical service to
[31:20]
come check you out to see what's going
[31:22]
on. It is also I guess I'll mention here
[31:26]
as well through Natali through yadsara
[31:29]
through other services you can get um a
[31:32]
bracelet a watch you can get some type
[31:35]
of um emergency button god forbid you
[31:38]
should fall at home these things
[31:40]
especially if you're living alone and as
[31:42]
we age are very very important to know
[31:46]
about and you know what the hardest
[31:47]
thing about being a new immigrant is
[31:49]
doesn't matter how long you live here is
[31:51]
that we can't know until we ask. We
[31:54]
can't know until someone shares this
[31:57]
information with us. So again, one of my
[32:00]
goals is really to begin to stir your
[32:02]
personal pot. What don't I know? What do
[32:06]
I already know, but I really didn't
[32:08]
realize the depth or I didn't realize
[32:10]
that there was more?
[32:12]
Somebody asked, um, how come I can't get
[32:16]
three months of my prescriptions? And
[32:18]
that's because you can't. But what you
[32:21]
can do is you can get three months worth
[32:23]
of the prescription to renew every
[32:26]
month. As opposed to getting 90 days
[32:29]
worth of pills, you can get 30 days
[32:32]
worth of pills, but that you have 3
[32:36]
months worth of the prescription. After
[32:39]
that, it doesn't matter if you have
[32:41]
taken that prescription for 40 years and
[32:44]
you're going to take it for another 40
[32:45]
years. You will need to then have the
[32:48]
doctor write a new prescription. Either
[32:51]
you'll use it through the website, your
[32:53]
app, or you will make an appointment.
[32:56]
Sometimes you might want to check in.
[32:58]
I've been on this medication for so
[33:00]
long, and I'm just wondering, maybe
[33:02]
there's something new out there. Maybe
[33:04]
there's a different type of medication
[33:08]
that would not have as many side
[33:10]
effects. Do I need this prescription?
[33:13]
you know, we haven't done a blood test
[33:15]
for X in a while. Let's check it out.
[33:18]
That's actually one of the reasons why
[33:20]
prescriptions are given on a monthly
[33:22]
basis and not for longer than a quarter.
[33:27]
Yes, you do become your own case
[33:30]
manager. But I also know that in many
[33:32]
countries throughout the world today,
[33:34]
the individual also becomes their own
[33:38]
case manager. Now what if you have a
[33:41]
chronic care need? You are diabetic. You
[33:45]
have dialysis. God forbid you have
[33:47]
cancer. There are various chronic care
[33:50]
needs that individuals have. How does
[33:53]
your katim manage those needs? Now as as
[33:57]
you know very well and I do not work for
[34:00]
the katim or for the ministry of health
[34:02]
and no one at nephesh benef does. And
[34:05]
our accountability goes as far as what
[34:08]
we share with you today. And standing
[34:10]
behind what we say today is is crucial
[34:14]
for us. If crucial can be a step more
[34:17]
important than just the word important,
[34:19]
but it is your katim that you want to
[34:22]
have accountability for sharing with you
[34:25]
very important personal information. So
[34:28]
again, I'm encouraging you be proactive.
[34:32]
If we talk about dos and don'ts, do be
[34:36]
proactive. Do be the nudge. If you see
[34:38]
yourself as the nudge, be a nice nudge,
[34:41]
but speak to the person who's going to
[34:43]
give you the information that you need
[34:46]
and that you feel secure in
[34:49]
a chronic care patient in all kot most
[34:53]
often will have a cap on how much they
[34:55]
pay for their medication in a quarter in
[34:58]
a threemonth period of time. It doesn't
[35:01]
mean that if they've reached that cap
[35:03]
that they can no longer get medications.
[35:06]
It means that the rest of their
[35:07]
medications are free. Now, by and large,
[35:11]
medication is not that expensive here
[35:14]
and they might not reach the cap. There
[35:18]
are other needs, for example,
[35:19]
individuals with cancer that very often
[35:22]
their medication then becomes free no
[35:25]
matter what the medication is. And what
[35:29]
if you've already taken a certain
[35:32]
medication, you've made aliyah and you
[35:34]
want to get that medication here and the
[35:37]
doctor says, "Sorry, we only give the
[35:40]
generic." Sorry, we don't give that for
[35:44]
that particular need here. Do be what I
[35:48]
hear you all scream proactive and say,
[35:51]
you know, well, I've taken it for this
[35:53]
many years. I'm hesitant to try
[35:55]
something new. And then the doctor will
[35:57]
discuss this with you if this isn't
[35:59]
something you discussed prior to your
[36:02]
aliyah. Or if you're allergic to an
[36:05]
ingredient and you must have something
[36:07]
that is not within the medical basket
[36:10]
which is not within the cell then your
[36:13]
doctor will write an appeals letter to
[36:16]
the to the ministry of health so that
[36:18]
you can get um financial participation
[36:21]
for the payment of that drug.
[36:28]
specialists, second opinions, and
[36:30]
imaging. Perhaps I'll start with
[36:33]
imaging. I will share with you that I
[36:35]
needed to get an MRI and I was already
[36:39]
not not only was I ready, but the
[36:41]
specialist was ready um to here. It'll
[36:45]
be in a couple of months. And that's why
[36:47]
my specialist said, "I'm going to give
[36:48]
you an appointment in the future because
[36:51]
it's going to take you that long to get
[36:53]
what you need." And very much to my
[36:56]
surprise, I was given an appointment 10
[36:59]
days later at a Jerusalem hospital for
[37:02]
that imaging for an MRI, which is very
[37:06]
um atypical. I was very much taken
[37:09]
aback. And when that date didn't work
[37:10]
for me, they gave me another date just a
[37:13]
few days later. So sometimes the system
[37:16]
can also surprise you. Don't come with
[37:20]
the impression even if you've already
[37:23]
had one experience to say, "Oh, this
[37:26]
country." Oh, this country happens to
[37:29]
have an excellent health care system.
[37:32]
Oh, this country gives health care to
[37:35]
all of its residents. I'm not going to
[37:37]
go into that, but if you've ever heard
[37:39]
me speak about residency and healthcare,
[37:42]
you know why I said residents health
[37:45]
care regardless of your pre-existing
[37:47]
conditions. And yeah, you know what?
[37:50]
Sometimes it can be a little bit
[37:52]
frustrating on navigating, but it is
[37:55]
health care for all and it's excellent
[37:58]
health care for all. And sometimes there
[38:00]
is something excellent that other people
[38:03]
seem to know about that we've had a hard
[38:05]
time navigating so that we can also find
[38:08]
out the excellent. And the point of
[38:11]
today is to be proactive and help
[38:14]
yourself by either using us nephesh
[38:18]
benefic.
[38:31]
We spoke earlier about choosing a
[38:33]
specialist. We spoke earlier about shap.
[38:36]
What's a hay? And a
[38:40]
hafa is a referral. Now I need to go see
[38:45]
a specialist. Many specialists require I
[38:49]
can't get into the doctor's office
[38:51]
without it with a without the referral
[38:54]
letter from my family physician. And
[38:58]
it's also a way for the family physician
[39:00]
to talk to that specialist. He's not
[39:02]
going to pick up the phone. He's going
[39:04]
to write on a piece of paper, Miriam
[39:07]
Neon, this age, this history. And this
[39:10]
is why I'm referring her to you. It's
[39:14]
not going to say you, a specific doctor.
[39:16]
You, the specialist, as a as a general,
[39:20]
you must have that ha when you go to the
[39:24]
doctor. What if you lose it? Happened to
[39:27]
me once. What if it is no longer valid?
[39:30]
I see that the dates are really pretty
[39:33]
broad in terms of uh a date for a haya
[39:38]
to be valid. It's not from one day to
[39:40]
the next. It's really several months.
[39:42]
But what if you lose it? Then you call
[39:44]
the office and say, "I lost my hapna. I
[39:48]
need a new one. I already have an
[39:50]
appointment. Please help me." There are
[39:53]
two ways to dial in to your doctor's
[39:56]
office to your katim. One is using the
[40:00]
call center and the other is by simply
[40:03]
calling your doctor's office, the
[40:06]
office, the local office of your katim.
[40:09]
If you don't know that number, you
[40:11]
should learn that number. It's a good
[40:12]
number to have. What is
[40:16]
avoot is often goes together with the
[40:22]
is your katim's
[40:25]
um obligation that they are going to now
[40:28]
pay for the imaging service. They are
[40:32]
going to pay for the outof clinic
[40:35]
service that you now need. This might be
[40:38]
imaging of some sort. This might be
[40:41]
special testing that might only be done
[40:43]
in a hospital. And here too, you must
[40:47]
have that piece of paper when you go for
[40:51]
that CT, when you go for that MRI, for
[40:54]
whatever you're going for. Now, as
[40:57]
somebody asked, how can I make an
[41:00]
appointment and get that imaging without
[41:02]
a heat? So first and foremost sometimes
[41:07]
getting aoot is incredibly easy to get.
[41:11]
It might be something that the katim
[41:13]
totally agrees with and one two three
[41:16]
you have the in your portal also by
[41:20]
asking for the is also done digitally.
[41:23]
It's not hard once you learn how to do
[41:26]
it. So lots of things are not hard once
[41:28]
you learn how to do them. ask either the
[41:31]
secretary for assistance or ask us and
[41:33]
we're happy to help you.
[41:36]
Um but now for whatever reason you don't
[41:40]
want to get the you just want to call
[41:43]
make an appointment and go. So for some
[41:46]
imaging it that you might be you might
[41:49]
need to um upload first your to them.
[41:54]
you might need to. They'll actually say
[41:55]
fax it or email the to that department
[41:59]
and then get an appointment. But if you
[42:01]
stay on the line with the menu also, you
[42:03]
get to speak to a person and you can say
[42:06]
you want to make an appointment, pay
[42:07]
privately, which will cost you an
[42:09]
incredible amounts of money, but that
[42:11]
choice is yours. Remember that the end
[42:14]
result is the same. You're not going to
[42:16]
get answers any quicker because you paid
[42:18]
out of pocket. the doctor isn't going to
[42:21]
get information any quicker because you
[42:23]
paid out of pocket. I strongly suggest
[42:26]
that you use the system to get your heat
[42:29]
koot.
[42:31]
That being said, you forgot it. You
[42:34]
forgot it at home and of course you're
[42:36]
not going to go back. You've waited a
[42:38]
week and a half to get the appointment.
[42:40]
You can then pay out of pocket and the
[42:43]
money will be reimbursed to you once you
[42:46]
are then able to present the when I
[42:49]
speak about presenting the I don't mean
[42:52]
going there in person I mean that you
[42:55]
are going to ask what email should I
[42:57]
send my to so that I can then be
[43:01]
reimbursed. Be proactive.
[43:05]
Another place to be proactive is now
[43:08]
you've had this imaging and you want the
[43:12]
the the disc. You want to take home the
[43:15]
disc. Either you want to have it on your
[43:17]
person for your own record. You want to
[43:20]
bring it to your neighbor who's a
[43:21]
radiologist or you want to take it to a
[43:24]
variety of second opinions, but now you
[43:26]
have something in hand. If you don't
[43:28]
have it in hand, it will not be
[43:30]
automatically given to you most likely.
[43:33]
um you'll have to go back and you'll
[43:35]
have to you know
[43:38]
just be proactive.
[43:42]
Many ultrasounds and X-rays take place
[43:46]
in the clinic. Now, you might need a
[43:48]
specific kind of X-ray and therefore,
[43:52]
sorry, a specific kind of ultrasound and
[43:55]
your local clinic might not do that lo
[43:57]
that ultrasound and you may find
[43:59]
yourself traveling traveling a little
[44:01]
bit or traveling a little bit just to
[44:03]
get a sooner appointment.
[44:06]
Cippy, are there any questions?
[44:11]
>> Nothing that I haven't been able to
[44:13]
answer quickly. Okay.
[44:15]
>> Okie do.
[44:17]
Um,
[44:19]
somebody asked how you get a list of
[44:22]
English-speaking doctors. So, on many of
[44:25]
the kot, if you click on a doctor,
[44:28]
you'll see an icon
[44:31]
um of the person and you can click on
[44:34]
that icon and not always, but many times
[44:37]
you'll see the language that they speak,
[44:40]
where they went to school. I find very
[44:42]
helpful for two reasons. A, it helps me
[44:45]
know is somebody in their 30s or is
[44:47]
somebody in their 50s60s depending on
[44:49]
when they went to school
[44:52]
or you're going to network. And
[44:54]
remember, just because somebody says
[44:55]
that they speak English, does not mean
[44:58]
that they are a native English speaker.
[45:00]
There is a new database that was
[45:03]
developed privately by somebody called
[45:06]
Anglo Doctors in Israel. Many of them
[45:09]
are private doctors. They are not within
[45:12]
the public system but it is there for
[45:14]
you to use and you should um it's always
[45:18]
good to learn information collect
[45:20]
information so that if you need it you
[45:24]
have it.
[45:27]
All right. Is this an emergency? So
[45:32]
sometimes we can quantify what is an
[45:35]
emergency. An emergency means you're
[45:39]
you're clutching your heart, literally.
[45:41]
Um, less of an emergency might mean,
[45:45]
"Wow, I woke up with the worst stomach
[45:47]
ache ever and everything in between." If
[45:51]
you are clutching your chest and you are
[45:54]
having, god forbid, a true emergency,
[45:58]
um, then you call one of the first aid
[46:02]
responders. Either you call Main David,
[46:06]
the Israel's um
[46:09]
Israel's uh emergency
[46:11]
responder, first aid responder, and
[46:14]
you're raising your hands for help and
[46:17]
you're dialing
[46:19]
101
[46:20]
and that is Main Davided Adam. They have
[46:25]
uh outfitted ambulances. They will come
[46:29]
and they will most likely want to take
[46:31]
you to a hospital. They don't want to
[46:35]
make a decision only on their own. They
[46:37]
will want for their accountability to
[46:40]
take you to a hospital. You might decide
[46:43]
to call
[46:45]
at 1221. You might decide, you know
[46:50]
what, I'm not sure that this is an
[46:52]
emergency. I'm not clutching my chest.
[46:56]
My facial expression isn't changing. I'm
[46:59]
not in the midst of a health care need
[47:02]
that my doctor has told me if my
[47:05]
condition worsens I should go to the
[47:07]
hospital. Because if that's the case,
[47:10]
many times your doctor will have already
[47:12]
given you the hafa. What's the haya? The
[47:16]
referral to go to the emergency room.
[47:19]
Many times in Israel as the winter
[47:22]
approaches, pneumonia, flu are catchy
[47:26]
and then popular. And if you are a
[47:29]
little bit older like myself, then when
[47:33]
you go to the doctor, he actually might
[47:36]
already give you that referral should
[47:38]
the situation worsen. But now you just
[47:42]
you woke up, it's two in the morning and
[47:44]
your belly hurts. You are cooking late
[47:47]
at night and you slipped and you're not
[47:51]
sure did you break your arm, god forbid,
[47:53]
or you cut yourself. What should you do?
[47:57]
All of the kotim have a 24-hour call
[48:01]
center. When you call this call center,
[48:04]
you can do a variety of things. You can
[48:06]
make an appointment. There's a whole
[48:09]
host of things that you can do. The one
[48:12]
of the important things that you can do
[48:15]
is you can speak to a nurse for a
[48:18]
medical consult. Y refu y is is consult
[48:25]
or advice and refu is medicine medical.
[48:29]
You will speak to that nurse who will do
[48:32]
a short intake who will then connect you
[48:35]
to a doctor or may say I think that you
[48:39]
should go to the hospital. which
[48:41]
hospital will you be going to? I will be
[48:44]
sending the referral ahead to that
[48:48]
hospital. And the second that person
[48:50]
says I'm sending the ha the referral to
[48:55]
that hospital, you are now absolved of
[48:59]
any cost. Because when you go to the
[49:02]
emergency room in Israel, if you are not
[49:06]
hospitalized, hospitalized means you
[49:09]
were given a room in a ward
[49:12]
or they told you you're being
[49:14]
hospitalized. You might need to wait in
[49:15]
the emergency room until a bed opens,
[49:17]
but you are being hospitalized. You are
[49:20]
not there for observation. You are being
[49:23]
hospitalized. If you go to the emergency
[49:26]
room without a referral and you are
[49:28]
hospitalized, there won't be any fee.
[49:31]
But if you go to the emergency room
[49:33]
because, wow, your belly really, really
[49:35]
hurts and that's the first thing you
[49:37]
thought to do and they, you know, gave
[49:40]
you some Pepto-Bismol and sent you on
[49:42]
your way, then you're going to get a
[49:44]
bill, a bill, and it's going to be a big
[49:46]
bill. It'll probably be for over a
[49:47]
thousand sheke.
[49:50]
When you call for refu, will the person
[49:54]
answer on the first ring? He may not.
[49:58]
And that is why you want to assess what
[50:00]
is my emergency. Will they answer a
[50:02]
gazillion%, I have used that number
[50:05]
many, many, many, many times. And 100%,
[50:08]
but it might be on the second ring or
[50:10]
the third ring, but I don't speak any
[50:12]
Hebrew. How is that going to work for
[50:14]
me? Well, do you ever put something in
[50:17]
Google that you're not really sure, but
[50:19]
you put in your top three words and then
[50:21]
you get the information? So, you might
[50:24]
say um your your age, your what hurts
[50:29]
you and pain and I don't know hospital
[50:34]
something like that and you will get
[50:36]
your message across to this person who
[50:39]
will really be able to communicate with
[50:41]
you. That is something that I promise.
[50:44]
Will it be easy communication? Maybe,
[50:47]
maybe not. But all you need from that
[50:49]
person is the outcome. You need the
[50:52]
referral to get to the emergency room.
[50:55]
And if they feel that you shouldn't
[50:57]
drive or someone shouldn't drive you,
[50:59]
but rather that you should take an
[51:01]
ambulance. Here too, if the Kupat Khim
[51:04]
has stated that they that they want you
[51:07]
to go by ambulance, if you are not
[51:10]
hospitalized, they then are bound to pay
[51:13]
for the ambulance ride. If you decide to
[51:16]
take an ambulance, sort of instead of
[51:18]
taking a taxi and are not hospitalized,
[51:22]
it will be your responsibility to pay
[51:25]
for the uh for the ambulance ride. God
[51:28]
forbid if you are in a accident, a
[51:32]
traffic accident,
[51:34]
that same um ruling does not necessarily
[51:38]
apply. You were taken because it was
[51:40]
decided there on the spot given the
[51:43]
situation that you should go to the
[51:46]
hospital. I would like to repeat what I
[51:48]
said. All co all kotim have a 24-hour
[51:52]
call center. tomorrow or even tonight if
[51:56]
you're bored, call the call center of
[51:59]
your katim. Listen to the menu. Listen
[52:03]
to the words.
[52:14]
But you can try. Point being, try it.
[52:17]
Listen for those words
[52:20]
or medical consult. Write it down. Put
[52:23]
it on your fridge. Put it wherever you
[52:25]
want to so that you remember. Oh, when I
[52:29]
call my katim call center. I need to
[52:32]
press this. I need to press that. And
[52:34]
then I'm going to get to
[52:37]
in the middle of a crisis is not the
[52:39]
time to try to figure something out.
[52:42]
Same holds true to understand who are
[52:44]
the first responders, how do I call the
[52:46]
police, how do I call the fire
[52:48]
department. If you made aliyah recently,
[52:52]
you might still have your post aliyah
[52:53]
guide where we have this information
[52:56]
that you can cut out and put on your
[52:58]
fridge. If not, you can download it from
[53:01]
our website and print it out and put it
[53:05]
on your fridge. or there are magnets
[53:08]
that you can put on your fridge but have
[53:11]
it available. Be what? Proactive.
[53:16]
There are also urgent care centers.
[53:19]
Sometimes your katim might have their
[53:22]
own urgent care center that you can then
[53:25]
go to. Sometimes there's other urgent
[53:28]
care centers such as TM that's very
[53:30]
popular especially in the Jerusalem and
[53:32]
Bamesh and Modí areas which is also an
[53:37]
urgent care center. Does your kopath
[53:39]
khim partner with an urgent care center?
[53:42]
Not all kotim do.
[53:46]
Does not. Now I want to go to the urgent
[53:49]
care center because I was cooking and I
[53:51]
sliced my finger and I'm not sure if it
[53:54]
needs glue. I'm not sure if I need some
[53:56]
stitches and you know it's it's on my
[53:59]
hand. I'm comfortable that I don't need
[54:01]
a plastic surgeon as opposed to my face
[54:04]
and I want to go to an urgent care
[54:06]
center. Again, if you call the yu from
[54:10]
your katim and take that referral or
[54:14]
they call ahead to the urgent care
[54:16]
center, the referral will be there and
[54:20]
then going to the urgent care center
[54:22]
will be free. Otherwise, it will cost in
[54:25]
and around a 100 checkout for you to go
[54:28]
to that urgent care center.
[54:31]
Emergency rooms worldwide are all the
[54:34]
same. Time stops. You get there, it
[54:38]
seems like it's going good. You're
[54:39]
called into triage. They check your
[54:41]
blood pressure. They check your
[54:43]
temperature. What's hurting you? They
[54:45]
make a nice little folder. They give you
[54:47]
a bracelet. And you're full of hope. and
[54:50]
three hours later, you're still waiting
[54:53]
around. And that's why you don't always
[54:56]
want to run to the emergency room.
[54:58]
Emergencies, real emergencies really do
[55:00]
happen. But can it be managed first by
[55:04]
going to either your katim urgent care
[55:07]
center or a local urgent care center or
[55:11]
by calling the Rafui of your katim so
[55:16]
that however you need the referral to
[55:18]
get to it will get there so that you are
[55:21]
not paying money out of pocket.
[55:25]
Always have your tatahoot on you. It may
[55:28]
be asked for if you go to be if you're
[55:31]
going to be hospitalized. When you're
[55:34]
hospitalized, it doesn't mean that you
[55:36]
have to now present your insurance
[55:38]
information like in many countries
[55:40]
abroad. They will just ask you which is
[55:42]
your katim.
[55:44]
If you are, god forbid, hospitalized,
[55:47]
what services does this hospital have
[55:49]
for me to navigate my needs? First and
[55:52]
foremost, do have an advocate. It can be
[55:55]
a family member. It can be a friend. It
[55:58]
can be a neighbor. Anywhere in the
[56:01]
world, you need somebody with you in a
[56:03]
hospital. Hospitalization is different
[56:05]
in Israel. You are responsible for
[56:08]
having your own bottles of water. No
[56:10]
one's bringing you a nice little
[56:11]
picture. You'll have your own cell
[56:13]
phone. H. It's just a little bit
[56:16]
different. You may not have your own
[56:17]
room. You might be sharing it with one
[56:19]
or two other people who may or may not
[56:22]
be of the same nationality as you.
[56:27]
your family doctor will not have any
[56:29]
rights to see you or your specialist
[56:31]
will not have rights to see you in that
[56:34]
hospital. Do have somebody be in touch
[56:37]
with your family doctor so that they can
[56:39]
know what's going on. And once you are
[56:41]
released, you will want to bring your
[56:44]
discharge papers to the katim so that it
[56:48]
can be scanned into your file for you to
[56:50]
then discuss with whatever
[56:54]
medical specialists or medical needs are
[56:57]
going to then come afterwards.
[57:00]
What if you now are going to need
[57:01]
therapies? You need physical therapy.
[57:03]
You need other therapies. You don't need
[57:05]
them at home. How do you find a good
[57:08]
physical therapist? your network. You
[57:11]
ask your doctor in my Koopa, who do who
[57:13]
do you like? Most KPOim have a variety
[57:16]
of OT's and PTs. Who who do you like?
[57:19]
Well, I don't know that I can get that
[57:21]
person, but I'll try. Be proactive. When
[57:26]
you call for PT in the clinic and they
[57:28]
say, "Okay, we can see you in a month,
[57:31]
but you just broke your leg or had knee
[57:35]
surgery." You're not waiting a month.
[57:37]
You say, "I just got out of the
[57:38]
hospital. I'm supposed to have it within
[57:40]
10 days. This is what I need now. And
[57:43]
yes, it might be way out of your box.
[57:46]
And that's what being Israeli does. And
[57:48]
allows you to land planes and be out of
[57:52]
your box. You all have the ability to do
[57:55]
so because you did so abroad.
[58:00]
All kotim have the services of a social
[58:04]
worker within the network. What does
[58:07]
that mean? Within the network, there
[58:09]
might be multiple clinics of your chosen
[58:12]
Koopa in your city and one social worker
[58:16]
who sort of hops around from that clinic
[58:18]
to that clinic. The social worker can be
[58:21]
so helpful in helping with forms in
[58:24]
understanding rights when you have
[58:26]
certain medical conditions with with a
[58:30]
whole host of things within the confines
[58:33]
of your katim. Sometimes it's just
[58:36]
having somebody really helpful to talk
[58:38]
to. Will they speak English?
[58:40]
Potentially, because again, within the
[58:43]
medical fields and paramedical fields,
[58:45]
you have to know some English. Um,
[58:49]
there's also social workers on every
[58:52]
floor of a hospital. And now, God
[58:55]
forbid, someone's been hospitalized and
[58:57]
they're going to be sent home and they
[58:59]
live alone and and now they need help at
[59:03]
home. How does that get navigated? Now
[59:06]
they need certain things that they never
[59:07]
thought that they would need. How does
[59:09]
that get navigated? The social worker in
[59:12]
the hospital can help bridge some of
[59:15]
those things so that you are not being
[59:18]
your own case manager.
[59:22]
There are also mental health services
[59:24]
provided for through all of the kotim.
[59:28]
Many years ago, there was a reform put
[59:30]
into place that mental health now came
[59:33]
under the umbrella of the kotim.
[59:37]
We have on our on our YouTube channel a
[59:41]
a open forum on navigating the mental
[59:44]
health system whether that's the public
[59:47]
mental health system through the kotim
[59:49]
or the private mental health system of
[59:52]
choosing your own mental health provider
[59:56]
a social worker. Social workers in
[59:58]
Israel are not the same as social
[60:00]
workers abroad. You will find that it is
[60:03]
most social workers who provide
[60:05]
therapeutic needs in Israel, not
[60:08]
necessarily a psychologist or
[60:10]
psychiatrist. Through the copotim, you
[60:13]
may find someone who speaks English. You
[60:16]
may not. You might find somebody that
[60:17]
you're really comfortable comfortable
[60:19]
with for psychiatric needs because it's
[60:22]
medical management. They're not
[60:24]
necessarily providing you with those
[60:26]
therapeutic needs on a weekly basis and
[60:29]
and you're fine with that. But again, do
[60:34]
your homework. Be proactive. You know
[60:37]
best what you need. How are you going to
[60:40]
be able to access what you need given
[60:44]
your time, given your budget, and given
[60:48]
your personal needs. There are many
[60:51]
developmental therapies available for
[60:53]
children. through all of the kotim with
[60:57]
the supplemental services you have even
[61:00]
more things that are available. Somebody
[61:03]
asked how can I compare kot one to the
[61:07]
other. Maybe I want to switch. And by
[61:10]
the way, sometimes people switch only
[61:12]
because they now have been diagnosed
[61:14]
with something specific and the doctor
[61:17]
that they want to see or the medication
[61:20]
is cheaper is with a different Koopa
[61:23]
than the present Koopa. And that's a
[61:25]
very good reason that people then
[61:28]
switch. There are there is a website
[61:31]
called call cll.gov.il.
[61:36]
This is a site only in Hebrew, but you
[61:39]
can Google translate. Just rightclick
[61:40]
and Google translate. And you can find
[61:43]
the different sections whether it is
[61:46]
services for children or hearing
[61:48]
impairedness or um diabetes or things
[61:52]
for seniors, whatever it may be. And you
[61:55]
can see what is covered within the
[61:57]
general basket or what is more specific
[62:01]
ka to koopa. And then you can go back to
[62:04]
your coupon and say, "Hey, you know, I
[62:06]
found out this information. Can you
[62:09]
please tell me more?"
[62:12]
When looking to get service through the
[62:14]
katim for any mental health or
[62:17]
therapeutic need, it will begin with a
[62:21]
ha with a referral from your family
[62:24]
doctor. And then because you're going to
[62:27]
end up saying, "Okay, well now what?" go
[62:31]
back to the secretary and say, "How do I
[62:34]
facilitate this process, please?" And we
[62:38]
know that there are those secretaries
[62:40]
who had their first cup of coffee and
[62:42]
their second cup of coffee. And we know
[62:45]
those who couldn't get their kids out
[62:47]
the door and have had a terrible morning
[62:49]
and didn't have their cup of coffee yet.
[62:51]
But the nicer we are, hopefully, the
[62:53]
nicer they will be back. And again, we
[62:57]
are here with you. We can't make
[62:59]
appointments for you. We are not a
[63:01]
person's personal secretary, but we are
[63:04]
here to help you navigate the system.
[63:07]
And if you find that you really do need
[63:09]
a manager, you need a case manager, you
[63:11]
got this going on and that going on,
[63:13]
there are private people that you can
[63:16]
hire for medical case management who
[63:19]
will go to you with you for
[63:21]
appointments, who will make appointments
[63:23]
for you, who will do some of this leg
[63:26]
work for you. There is also within
[63:30]
hospitals medical advocacy. There's an
[63:33]
ombman if you feel that something is
[63:35]
unfair. There are many resources
[63:38]
available. There is also through
[63:42]
they do medical advocacy such as getting
[63:46]
appointments earlier um and things like
[63:49]
that that can be very very helpful.
[63:52]
There are also in Israel two medical
[63:55]
shadim a shad is a person a matchmaker
[64:00]
and they are worldrenown
[64:03]
that they now can be called if you have
[64:07]
been diagnosed with X and you're looking
[64:10]
for the best doctor in Israel for X and
[64:14]
they might ask you questions you might
[64:16]
need to upload information so that they
[64:18]
can see the medical history but again
[64:21]
this isn't information that your kupatim
[64:23]
is not going to share with you. Just
[64:26]
like for um there's another slide coming
[64:29]
up about some other resources that we
[64:31]
will discuss shortly.
[64:35]
Digital services. Okay, everyone loves
[64:39]
the digital age. Not really, but there's
[64:43]
a lot to be said for the digital age.
[64:45]
like at two in the morning, I can
[64:47]
actually write my doctor something on my
[64:51]
portal and chances are very good. Even
[64:54]
though it says I will get an answer back
[64:55]
within five working days, I know my
[64:58]
doctor. I have a long-standing
[65:00]
relationship with him and I will get an
[65:03]
answer back very quickly. in particular
[65:06]
if I'm in the middle of a health care
[65:08]
crisis. And if I am in the middle of a
[65:10]
health care crisis, again, I'm going to
[65:13]
be proactive and say to my doctor, I'm
[65:16]
I'm just really worried. What if it gets
[65:19]
worse? What if this? What should I do? I
[65:22]
want to keep you updated. How should I
[65:24]
keep you updated? He is not necessarily
[65:27]
going to say, "Here is my cell phone.
[65:30]
Feel free to WhatsApp." But that does
[65:33]
happen if you are in the middle of a
[65:35]
health care crisis and you have a nice
[65:37]
relationship with this doctor. It is up
[65:40]
to you to be proactive.
[65:43]
There is something that you can do
[65:46]
within your katim which is using the
[65:49]
system without your membership card.
[65:52]
Your membership card is your credit card
[65:54]
looking membership card and now you
[65:57]
forgot it at home and you want to go
[65:59]
fill a prescription. Nah, you forgot it
[66:01]
at home and you have your doctor's
[66:03]
appointment. You can um sort of release
[66:07]
the card and it's good for one whole day
[66:11]
and then you can go to the doctor and
[66:13]
then you can go to the um pharmacy to go
[66:17]
fill your prescription. Now some people
[66:19]
want to know why should I go to my Kupat
[66:21]
Khim pharmacy? I have super farm right
[66:25]
next door.
[66:28]
Your kupat kaleim pharmacy
[66:31]
is your public pharmacy. Does it mean
[66:34]
that they actually have in stock your
[66:35]
medication? They may not. But they can
[66:38]
also find out for you where else there
[66:41]
is your medication. And unfortunately,
[66:43]
you'll see as the winter approaches.
[66:46]
There are sometimes shortages of certain
[66:48]
medications because everybody is sick
[66:50]
with the same thing. Somehow that
[66:52]
happens in this country.
[66:55]
um or you might have that prescription
[66:59]
for the um antibiotic and you want to go
[67:02]
to Superfarm and that's not a problem.
[67:05]
You don't have your card, but you open
[67:07]
the card using your digital system and
[67:10]
it's it's something that you can find on
[67:12]
your app or on the website or by calling
[67:14]
your call center and um you go to the
[67:18]
superarm and you can get your
[67:21]
antibiotic. But there are sometimes that
[67:24]
a maybe not all super fararmms work with
[67:27]
all katotim or there are sometimes some
[67:31]
medications that you can only access at
[67:34]
your katim. There are also some
[67:37]
medications that you might need to sign
[67:39]
for like a narcotic for example. You
[67:41]
might need to sign you might need to
[67:43]
show your two dots.
[67:46]
Yes, navigating the system is different
[67:49]
and yes, the first time around the block
[67:52]
with that new experience might have
[67:55]
certain hurdles and might have certain
[67:58]
pitfalls, but that doesn't mean that you
[68:01]
can't find the resource to help you
[68:03]
navigate it. There's no reason why
[68:06]
somebody should be stuck in a corner and
[68:09]
just throw up their hands. And if you're
[68:12]
not sure, just give us a call and we
[68:14]
might not be the answer, but we might
[68:17]
know who a more correct answer is.
[68:22]
Your your app service or website has so
[68:24]
many different services. Checking the
[68:27]
results of your blood work, talking to
[68:29]
your doctor, renewing, um putting in the
[68:32]
request to renew prescriptions,
[68:35]
um so many so many different things.
[68:38]
Those are the things that come to mind
[68:39]
because those are the more popular and
[68:41]
of course making an appointment.
[68:46]
Know where to turn within your the
[68:51]
secretary might say, "I'm not your
[68:53]
address. Who is? Do I need to go back to
[68:56]
my doctor? What should I do?" Now, you
[69:00]
know what? Maybe everybody in your
[69:02]
clinic didn't have their coffee today
[69:03]
and maybe they forgot to have it
[69:05]
yesterday. So maybe you want to go to
[69:07]
not a different katim
[69:10]
but a different clinic of your katim
[69:13]
which might necessitate a different
[69:16]
family doctor. Yes, everyone meaning
[69:20]
every clinic runs a little bit
[69:22]
differently and there are differences
[69:25]
between Makabi in Jerusalem and Makabi
[69:28]
in Modí. And there are differences
[69:31]
between super farm in the north and
[69:33]
super farm in Bamesh.
[69:36]
It's a big country. Doesn't feel that
[69:38]
way sometimes, but it's a big country.
[69:41]
It's not cookie cutter everywhere you
[69:43]
go.
[69:44]
understand the different outside
[69:46]
resources that we've spoken about for
[69:48]
medical advocacy and navigation. I
[69:51]
mentioned
[69:53]
I'll mention here something called RCCS
[69:58]
which is for cancer navigation god
[70:00]
forbid I will there are uh wonderful
[70:04]
resources for um breast cancer there are
[70:09]
countrywide organizations for different
[70:13]
needs whether it's dialysis whether it's
[70:16]
transplant needs um I mentioned our
[70:20]
medical Khanim, the medical matchmakers
[70:22]
in this country. Um, there are ways to
[70:26]
navigate the system. Do we always get
[70:29]
the answers that we want in navigating
[70:31]
the system? Nobody has a magic wand, but
[70:35]
it definitely eases the path that you
[70:38]
might need.
[70:39]
All hospitals also have most if not all
[70:43]
Kupat Khim offices. So that somebody is
[70:48]
hospitalized and they might need
[70:50]
something from their KPA, look to see if
[70:53]
there's a Kupat Khim administrative
[70:55]
office within the within the hospital.
[70:58]
And most important, know your rights. I
[71:03]
will share with you I once had a family
[71:05]
member an older family member in the
[71:07]
hospital and um he needed to fast and
[71:13]
the test wasn't happening and the test
[71:15]
wasn't happening and the test wasn't
[71:17]
happening and I went to the there was a
[71:21]
office in that hospital um for rights
[71:24]
and benefits and I said listen this
[71:26]
person is over 80 he's been fasting for
[71:29]
this amount of time what is going on I
[71:32]
need communic communication. I didn't
[71:33]
say it like that. I said it nicely. And
[71:36]
she she made a call. She said, "Within
[71:38]
the hour, if no one is there, please
[71:40]
come back down." And don't you know
[71:42]
within 15 minutes, somebody was in the
[71:44]
office was in the was in his room. But I
[71:47]
had to I had to be proactive and
[71:50]
sometimes it's personally overwhelming
[71:53]
to be proactive. There is a site called
[71:56]
Cole
[71:58]
that is the portal of rights and
[72:00]
benefits throughout the country. There
[72:02]
is lumi which you might know about which
[72:05]
offers depending on much criteria
[72:08]
medical disability and elder care
[72:11]
assistance meaning you know um
[72:13]
caregiving at home and and many
[72:16]
different avenues to understand what
[72:19]
your rights are. Are there different
[72:22]
rights for me to have?
[72:27]
Okay, this is something that I just
[72:29]
mentioned also the glossery NBN has a
[72:33]
glossery of medical health care terms.
[72:35]
We mentioned about shar we mentioned
[72:38]
about we mentioned about but what about
[72:43]
blood pressure? What about
[72:46]
um a blood test? What about lots of
[72:50]
other terms that are listed there? Know
[72:54]
your rights. And you know, while I'm
[72:56]
thinking about it, when I talk about
[72:58]
knowing your rights, and I spoke earlier
[73:00]
about going to the doctor and he doesn't
[73:02]
check you from head to toe, all he does
[73:04]
is look in your throat, look in your
[73:07]
ears, maybe listens to your chest
[73:09]
because you came and you you felt maybe
[73:11]
you had strep. He didn't take your blood
[73:13]
pressure. He didn't do lots of other
[73:15]
things unless he thought you needed it.
[73:18]
And be proactive. Say, "You know what,
[73:20]
doc, I'm just curious what my blood
[73:22]
pressure is. I'm feeling a little
[73:24]
lightheaded. I'm curious this, I'm
[73:26]
curious that. Be proactive.
[73:31]
These are just some of the services that
[73:33]
we have to help you be proactive. Come
[73:37]
to our TechMade simple events. We have
[73:40]
them every quarter. Last uh last quarter
[73:43]
in Jerusalem, we had quite a number of
[73:47]
people who had registered, less who
[73:48]
showed up. It's true. But we had about a
[73:51]
hundred people who had registered to
[73:53]
understand how to make apps work with
[73:57]
them and for them or websites and how to
[74:01]
be independent. Come to our translation
[74:04]
station. It is on our website where you
[74:07]
can um reserve an appointment, a
[74:11]
45minute appointment. It might be to
[74:14]
navigate your kopat kaleim website. It
[74:17]
might be to translate paperwork that you
[74:19]
got in the mail. It's for translation
[74:21]
and we're here with you. We have our
[74:24]
open forums. We have so many different
[74:26]
services that we pride ourselves in
[74:29]
offering to you.
[74:32]
And of course, we only wish you the best
[74:35]
of good health. I am going to stop
[74:39]
sharing so I can now see all of you.
[74:43]
Mary Moana, I I do want to I want to
[74:46]
answer one of the questions that I
[74:48]
answered very briefly if I can. Somebody
[74:50]
asked, "Is it true that Oh, I don't know
[74:52]
the exact wording, but uh is it true
[74:54]
that in Israel you need to hire somebody
[74:56]
or have family come um to to provide
[75:00]
24-hour help?" Because Oh, I wish I had
[75:03]
the question.
[75:04]
>> Um I can I can guess where the question
[75:06]
though was going.
[75:07]
>> Whoa, wait, wait. I just have to say I
[75:09]
answered this and I have to say this. I
[75:11]
am the mother, the very very proud
[75:13]
mother of four nurses. I mean two
[75:16]
in-law, two son-in-law, daughter-in-law
[75:19]
and one son and one daughter. Nurses are
[75:21]
angels, wonderful. They provide amazing
[75:25]
amazing service and help in the
[75:27]
hospital. That being said, if you
[75:29]
haven't caught the gist of what Marian
[75:31]
said tonight, you know, there's it's a
[75:34]
different system. It's different than
[75:35]
what you're used to. Hos I hope none of
[75:37]
you need to be hospitalized but if you
[75:39]
are and when you are you will see the
[75:41]
medical care is amazing and still it's a
[75:44]
totally different you have to cultural
[75:46]
switch it's different so yes you
[75:48]
sometimes do need to have family staying
[75:50]
with you 24/7 or hire somebody not
[75:53]
because the nurses aren't wonderful and
[75:55]
not because the doctors aren't good as
[75:57]
well it's just a different system the
[75:59]
ratio is different and so on if you want
[76:01]
to add something more mamm you can
[76:03]
>> I was just going to say sometimes it's
[76:05]
helpful
[76:06]
because the nurse is not giving you that
[76:09]
picture of water. Sometimes it's just if
[76:11]
you can't get out of bed. And the truth
[76:14]
is, I'm not sure how different it is in
[76:16]
other countries as well.
[76:20]
Many hospitals, I'll just add um have
[76:24]
because this is a Jewish country, have
[76:26]
Shabbat services. I don't mean prayer, I
[76:29]
mean food. Um, and you'll see in the
[76:32]
hallways a big tray, a big cart where
[76:35]
everybody lights candles and um,
[76:41]
but yes, it's one of
[76:44]
>> and they have beds often or pull out
[76:46]
couches next to the patient's bed so
[76:49]
that somebody can stay comfortably if
[76:51]
need be with your loved one in the
[76:54]
hospital.
[76:56]
might say to you who's staying with this
[76:59]
person overnight.
[77:02]
>> Are there any other questions, Cippy,
[77:04]
that need addressing?
[77:07]
>> Um,
[77:15]
no, I think we I was able to unless
[77:16]
somebody wants to if there's something
[77:18]
that I missed somehow and somebody wants
[77:20]
to raise their hand or open it. Um and
[77:22]
there was
[77:23]
>> you explain medical
[77:25]
again
[77:27]
>> I didn't who are they
[77:30]
>> is
[77:32]
>> um so one is Rav Ali Melik Foyer and the
[77:38]
other
[77:39]
is Benny Fischer. Benny Fischer is more
[77:43]
Jerusalem oriented but not exclusively
[77:46]
and Rabbi Foyer is more center of the
[77:50]
country oriented but not exclusively.
[77:53]
If you would like their contact
[77:55]
information, write to us at answers and
[77:57]
I'm happy to share it with you.
[78:03]
Any other questions?
[78:10]
All right,
[78:12]
Zippy.
[78:14]
>> That's it. Thank you very, very much,
[78:16]
Miriam.
[78:17]
>> All right. Thank you everyone for
[78:18]
joining us this evening and I look
[78:21]
forward to hearing from all of you. Have
[78:24]
a wonderful, wonderful day. Shatova.
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NBN article on Healthcare Systems in Israel: https://www.nbn.org.il/healthcare-in-...
