The Israel Healthcare Highlights Podcast

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 practical benefits patients and health systems have seen from adopting Israeli technologies.

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 digital data, and collaborations (including with Harvard) drive real-world innovations and international partnerships to improve patient outcomes.

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.

Drawing on his experience in hospitals, government and health plans, Mor-Yosef contrasts the different perspectives and priorities of each sector and emphasizes the need for national planning to ensure equal access across Israel’s center and periphery.

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 during conflict, and the ongoing challenge of funding and expanding access to medication literacy and mental health support.

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 expertise and innovation in health technology, while suggesting that comparisons should be made at a state level rather than between countries.

Dr. Fischer spoke solely in a personal capacity and not on behalf of any organizations with which she is affiliated.

Takeaways: In Israel, everybody has health insurance. The Israeli healthcare system has a longitudinal record for decades. America has a lot of expertise in healthcare that is not available elsewhere. Israel can quickly track large populations for health data. In the U.S. access to healthcare data is not as good as perceived. The US healthcare system has a market for health tech innovation. Comparative insights should be made at a state level. Israel's healthcare successes could inform state-level policies in the US. Care coordination and technology interoperability are key areas for improvement. 

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. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University from 2013-2025. From 2010-2012, Glied served as Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at HHS. She served as Senior Economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers in 1992-1993 and, in 2016-2017, on the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking. She currently chairs the New York State Commission on the Future of Health Care. Glied is a member of the Board of Directors of Geisinger, the Milbank Fund, and the Social Science Research Council. She is a Nonresident Senior Fellow of the Brookings Institution and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, National Bureau of Economic Research, National Academy of Social Insurance, and the American Academy of Arts and Science.

In this interview for Israel Healthcare Highlights, Sherry explores the fascinating evolution of Israel's healthcare system, from its roots in small clinics to a robust, tech-savvy network. Discover how Israel's unique approach to healthcare, including a national formulary and innovative cost-control measures, has allowed it to adapt to economic and demographic changes. Learn about the system's strengths, such as its egalitarian benefit package and successful integration of supplemental insurance, which have positioned it as a model of efficiency and adaptability in the face of global healthcare challenges.

Key Highlights:

Featuring insights from Sherry Glied, a renowned U.S. expert in health policy, and Bruce Rosen, a key figure in Israeli health policy research, this episode offers a deep dive into the strengths and challenges of Israel's healthcare system. 

Related Links: https://wagner.nyu.edu/community/faculty/sherry-glied https://www.nyu.edu/about/leadership-university-administration/office-of-the-president/comms/sherry-glied-stepping-down-dean-of-wagner-school.html Hashtags: #HealthcareInnovation #IsraelHealthcare #HealthPolicy

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 Medical Education of Dr. Sol Amsterdam & Dr. David P. Schumann, at Tel Aviv University, to explore one of healthcare’s most emotionally complex challenges: breaking bad news (BBN) to patients and families.

Drawing on decades of research and international leadership in the field, Prof. Karnieli-Miller discusses why BBN remains such a difficult skill to master, even for seasoned and compassionate professionals. She explains the impact of poorly delivered news: it can undermine trust, deepen suffering, and even lead to burnout among clinicians.

But there is a new approach - one that blends human connection with advanced technology. At the Gray Gray School of Medicine Prof. Karnieli-Miller, in collaboration with AI expert Dr. Zohar Elyoseph, developed BRAVE – Breaking Bad News with Reflective Virtual Experience – a groundbreaking AI-based simulator designed to help students and healthcare professionals practice delivering difficult news in a safe, interactive, and emotionally attuned setting and receive feedback.

BRAVE is more than just technology. It’s a pedagogical innovation built on evidence-based learning theories, and the SPwICES model for BBB sensitive communication. The simulator authentically represents the patient, to allow practice, and then “Dani” a communication expert who provides reflective, structured, and constructive feedback to improve performance. Looking ahead, BRAVE is being expanded to additional professions and use cases and adapted for multilingual, culturally sensitive implementations.

This is not just a technological leap it's a social mission. Want to learn more or to join the next pilot phase? Listen to this episode, contact the research team led by Prof. Karnieli-Miller [email protected] or visit her lab website. 

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 schools in Israel and later on to evaluate requests of research universities who do not have medical schools to establish such a school. The committee of 6 included, in addition to Professor Halevy, 2 former deans of existing medical schools and 3 prominent researchers from universities in Israel.

Requests were submitted by Reichman University, Weitzman Institute and Haifa University. After site visits and a thorough due diligence process, the Council of Higher Education, pursuant to the recommendation of the committee, approved a 4 year MD program at Reichman University, a 7.5 year MD/PhD program at the Weitzman Institute and a 6 year MD program at Haifa University. All three programs are to be opened in 2025.

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, and the establishment of the country’s first independent PhD nursing program at the University of Haifa. Most notably, Prof. Shadmi introduces ADVANCE—the new Azrieli Advanced Nursing Center—which will serve as a national hub for innovation, training, research, and healthtech integration in nursing.

Tune in to explore how this transformative initiative aims to unlock the full potential of nursing in Israel and beyond.