Five years into the Israeli National Diabetes Program - are we on the right track?

Diabetes mellitus poses major public health and economic challenges which necessitate national-level intervention. The ultimate goal of the Israel National Diabetes Program is to ensure that all people with diabetes, or at high risk of developing diabetes, will live well and have access to high-quality services that meet their individual needs. The integrated National Diabetes Program in Israel was established in 2014. Prevailing needs were identified and working groups assigned to delineate deficiencies and propose mode of action. Program leaders summarized and prioritized the needs, and identified main targets of action for the preliminary years. The program was achieved by a combined approach: top-bottom, having the Director General of the Ministry of Health (MoH) personally involved, and bottom-up, by routine meetings with representatives of the health organizations, clinical experts, patient representatives and other stakeholders. Main achievements during the first five years of the program included setting up a novel funding mechanism for diabetes prevention, substantiating the field of diabetes education in Israel, designing the infrastructure of diabetic foot care in Israel, updating the national health-budget allocation formula with incentives to improve provision of services, and promoting a mandatory system for judgemental labelling of food products. The program is in progress with ongoing monitoring, evaluation and improvement with particular emphasis on translational learning. Although there is much to be done, diabetes care in Israel has taken an enormous step forward in the past five years.

Disease Management plus Recommended Care versus Recommended Care Alone for Ambulatory Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Rationale: The efficacy of disease management programs in the treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains uncertain.Objectives: To study the effect of disease management (DM) added to recommended care (RC) in ambulatory patients with COPD.Measurements and Main Results: In this trial, 1,202 patients with COPD (age, ≥40 yr), with moderate to very severe airflow limitation were randomly assigned either to DM plus RC (study intervention) or to RC alone (control intervention). RC included follow-up by pulmonologists, inhaled long-acting bronchodilators and corticosteroids, smoking cessation intervention, nutritional advice and psychosocial support when indicated, and supervised physical activity sessions. DM, delivered by trained nurses during patients' visits to the designated COPD centers and by remote contacts with the patients between these visits, included patient self-care education, monitoring patients' symptoms and adherence to treatment, provision of advice in case of acute disease exacerbation, and coordination of care vis-à-vis other healthcare providers. The primary composite endpoint was first hospital admission for respiratory symptoms or death from any cause. During 3,537 patient-years, 284 patients (47.2%) in the control group and 264 (44.0%) in the study intervention group had a primary endpoint event. The median (range) time elapsed until a primary endpoint event was 1.0 (0-4.0) years among patients assigned to the study intervention and 1.1 (0-4.1) years among patients assigned to the control intervention; adjusted hazard ratio, 0.92 (95% confidence interval, 0.77-1.08).Conclusions: DM added to RC was not superior to RC alone in delaying first hospital admission or death among ambulatory patients with COPD.

[THE PARADIGM SHIFT IN MEDICINE FOLLOWING THE 4TH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION].

INTRODUCTION: A tremendous paradigm shift is occurring in the field of medicine. This is because the forward momentum in the evolving sphere of digital medicine has opened up new worlds of discovery that all fuse together to form a tsunami of innovation, along with sociological and social changes. The exponential rate of technological change creates profound sociological changes and these dynamics affect the medical field. This paper reviews some dimensions of this paradigm shift, such as the transition from illness to a focus on wellness; the shift from slow medicine into exponential medicine; personalized medicine to digital medicine, and more. Each paradigm shift creates challenges for health professionals, regulators, the public and the industry. The bottom line is that medicine is shifting from hospital back to the home. Physicians, health care organizations, the Ministry of Health, insurance companies and the industry need to prepare for this change - each in their respective areas of expertise. Careful strategic thinking is required, not only to adjust to the change but also to promote it in a patient-centered manner. The role of the medical doctor, the utilization of exponential technologies and finding new uses for existing hospital infrastructures are only secondary challenges with the primary consideration being improving people's health and decreasing medical costs. The best minds and talents should be involved in preparing for this shift and in planning "home hospitalizations" supported by technologies that will give the new patient - consumer exactly what they want and need.

Cancer risk among Holocaust survivors in Israel-A nationwide study.

BACKGROUND: Holocaust survivors during World War II were exposed to various factors that are associated with cancer risk. The objective of this study was to determine whether Holocaust survivors had an increased risk for developing cancer. METHODS: The study population included 152,622 survivors. The main analysis was based on a comparison between individuals who were entitled to compensation for suffering persecution during the war and individuals who were denied such compensation. A complementary analysis compared survivors who were born in countries governed by Nazi Germany with survivors born in nonoccupied countries. A Cox proportional hazards model was used, with the time at risk of cancer development starting on either January 1, 1960, or the date of immigration to the date of cancer diagnosis or death or the date of last follow-up (December 31, 2006). RESULTS: Cancer was diagnosed in 22.2% of those who were granted compensation versus 16% of those who were denied compensation (P < .0001). Adjusting for birth cohort, sex, country of origin, and period of immigration, both analyses revealed significant increased risks of developing cancer in those who were exposed. For those who were granted versus denied compensation, the hazard ratios were 1.06 (P < .001) for all sites, 1.12 (P = .07) for colorectal cancer, and 1.37 (P = .008) for lung cancer. For those born in occupied countries versus nonoccupied countries, the hazard ratios were 1.08 (P < .001), 1.08 (P = .003), and 1.12 (P = .02), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The current results, based on a large cohort of Holocaust survivors who were exposed to a variety of severe deprivations, add to the conflicting and sparse knowledge on this issue and support the notion that this group has a small but consistent increase in cancer development. Cancer 2017;123:3335-45. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

Disease management in the treatment of patients with chronic heart failure who have universal access to health care: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of disease management programs in improving the outcome of heart failure patients remains uncertain and may vary across health systems. This study explores whether a countrywide disease management program is superior to usual care in reducing adverse health outcomes and improving well-being among community-dwelling adult patients with moderate-to-severe chronic heart failure who have universal access to advanced health-care services and technologies. METHODS: In this multicenter open-label trial, 1,360 patients recruited after hospitalization for heart failure exacerbation (38%) or from the community (62%) were randomly assigned to either disease management or usual care. Disease management, delivered by multi-disciplinary teams, included coordination of care, patient education, monitoring disease symptoms and patient adherence to medication regimen, titration of drug therapy, and home tele-monitoring of body weight, blood pressure and heart rate. Patients assigned to usual care were treated by primary care practitioners and consultant cardiologists. The primary composite endpoint was the time elapsed till first hospital admission for heart failure exacerbation or death from any cause. Secondary endpoints included the number of all hospital admissions, health-related quality of life and depression during follow-up. Intention-to-treat comparisons between treatments were adjusted for baseline patient data and study center. RESULTS: During the follow-up, 388 (56.9%) patients assigned to disease management and 387 (57.1%) assigned to usual care had a primary endpoint event. The median (range) time elapsed until the primary endpoint event or end of study was 2.0 (0-5.0) years among patients assigned to disease management, and 1.8 (0-5.0) years among patients assigned to usual care (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.908; 95% confidence interval, 0.788 to 1.047). Hospital admissions were mostly (70%) unrelated to heart failure. Patients assigned to disease management had a better health-related quality of life and a lower depression score during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: This comprehensive disease management intervention was not superior to usual care with respect to the primary composite endpoint, but it improved health-related quality of life and depression. A disease-centered approach may not suffice to make a significant impact on hospital admissions and mortality in patients with chronic heart failure who have universal access to health care. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT00533013 . Trial registration date: 9 August 2007. Initial protocol release date: 20 September 2007.

The mass campaign to eradicate ringworm among the Jewish community in Eastern Europe, 1921-1938.

Between the years 1921 and 1938, 27,600 children were irradiated during a mass campaign to eradicate ringworm among the Jewish community in East Europe. The ringworm campaign was the initiative of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee together with the Jewish health maintenance organization OZE (The Society for the Protection of Jewish Health). We describe this campaign that used x-rays to eradicate ringworm and its mission to enhance public health among Jewish communities in Eastern Europe during the period between the world wars. We discuss the concepts behind the campaign, the primary health agents that participated in it, and the latent medical ramifications that were found among children treated for ringworm, many years after treatment--pathologies that can be linked to the irradiation they received as children. Our research is based on historical archival materials in the United States, Europe, and Israel.

Technologically assisted intensive home treatment: feasibility study.

Introduction: In recent year, many attempts have been made to provide patients with alternatives to psychiatric hospitalization during acute distress. Although several hospitalization alternatives have been offered, most of them still require patients to be distanced from their families, friends, and the social environment. Methods: In this report we describe the implementation of a novel approach to psychiatric care termed "Technologically assisted Intensive Home Treatment", where patients arriving to emergency settings are directed to home care with technological aids that enable close monitoring and ongoing contact with their therapists. Results: We describe the rationale and treatment principles of the treatment, and provide an elaborative description of the implementation process during the first year of implementation. Discussion: Additional attention is given to factors associated with early dropout from the program, in order to inform readers of predictors to optimal care. Limitations and directions for future research and practice are discussed.Clinical Trial Registration: The study was registered in the database of clinical trials (registration number SHEBA-19-6555-MW-CTIL) and in the Ministry of Health (registration number MOH_2022-08-22_011992).

EQ-5D as a generic measure of health-related quality of life in Israel: reliability, validity and responsiveness.

BACKGROUND: The European Quality of Life 5-Dimensions questionnaire is one of the most commonly used measures of health-related quality of life. OBJECTIVES: To present the feasibility, reliability and validity of the Hebrew version of the EQ-5D. METHODS: We conducted face-to-face interviews with a representative sample (n = 1666) of the Israeli Jewish population. The data collected included demographic and medical information, and self-valuation of health using the EQ-5D descriptive system, Visual Analogue Scale and Time Trade-Off. Construct validity was assessed by assuming that older individuals, those with a greater burden of diseases, and those reporting experience with their own severe illness would have lower EQ-5D indexes, VAS and TTO values. Test-retest reliability was assessed in a small sample (n = 50) that was reevaluated after a 3 week interval. RESULTS: Test-retest reliability of the EQ-5D and VAS was very high (r > or = 0.85). Reliability of the TTO was moderate (r = 0.48). There were significant differences in the EQ-5D index, profiles, VAS and TTO between healthy and sick respondents and younger and older respondents, indicating good validity of the instrument. CONCLUSIONS: The Hebrew translation of the EQ-5D is a practical, reliable and valid instrument for assessing the health-related quality of life of the general Israeli Jewish population.

Health technology management in Israel: HTA in action.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to describe the history and present situation with health technology assessment (HTA) in Israel. METHODS: The method used in this study was a historical analysis based mainly on the knowledge of the authors, but supplemented by the published literature. RESULTS: HTA originated in Israel as a centralized function conducted under the auspice of research, developing into an active multidisciplinary center. Throughout the expansion of the field, HTA was performed in affiliation with several local and international bodies, while providing direct and indirect support at the national level. Today, mainly as a result of vigorous dissemination of the principles, methodology and tools for HTA by the Israeli Center for Technology Assessment in Health Care (ICTAHC), this discipline is increasingly a decentralized activity conducted by a great variety of institutions. Israeli health policy decisions are increasingly based on the results of HTA. CONCLUSIONS: ICTAHC's role and functioning has expanded since its beginnings. HTA has become an important part of health care in Israel.

The use of ICT in the delivery of healthcare services to the chronic patient.

Chronic diseases cause a major problem to the modern health care services world wide. Our work describes a new approach to tackle the problem of the chronically ill patients, by using information and communication technology (ICT) for patient's empowerment and managed their care. Our research, which is conducted with close cooperation with the health maintenance organizations and is still continuing, is based on a "bottom-up" approach and is also aimed at changing paradigms, well established in the western healthcare services.

[The forgotten ringworm campaign of OZE-TOZ in Poland].

In 1921, the JOINT-JDC [the American Jewish WeLfare Organization) together with the Jewish health organizations of Eastern Europe (OZE, TOZ) initiated a campaign to eradicate ringworm of the scalp, which was one of the major medical causes that prevented Jews from immigrating to the West. This campaign continued until 1938. During the years 1921-1938, 27,760 children were irradiated (x-rayed) as part of the treatment. This study, based on archival sources in Israel and abroad, presents the story of this unique campaign to eradicate ringworm in the Eastern European Jewish communities, the ideology behind this initiative, the health and medical factors that played a role and its outcomes. This research was conducted at The Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research and The School of Public Health at Tel Aviv University.

What should be given a priority - costly medications for relatively few people or inexpensive ones for many? The Health Parliament public consultation initiative in Israel.

BACKGROUND: In the past two decades, government and civic organizations have been implementing a wide range of deliberative public consultations on health care-related policy. Drawing on these experiences, a public consultation initiative in Israel called the Health Parliament was established. GOALS: To implement a public consultation initiative that will engage members of the public in the discussion of four healthcare policy questions associated with equity in health services and on priorities for determining which medications and treatments should be included in the basket of national health services. METHOD: One hundred thirty-two participants from the general population recruited through a random sample were provided with background materials and met over several months in six regional sites. Dilemma activities were used and consultants were available for questions and clarifications. Participants presented their recommendations in a national assembly to the Minister of Health. OUTCOMES: Across the regional groups the recommendations were mostly compatible, in particular regarding considering the healthcare system's monetary state, even at the expense of equity, but for each policy question minority views were also expressed. A strong emphasis in the recommendations was pragmatism. CONCLUSION: Participants felt the experience was worthwhile; though the actual impact of their recommendations on policy making was indirect, they were willing to participate in future consultations. However, despite enthusiasm the initiative was not continued. Issues raised are whether consultation initiatives must have a direct impact on healthcare policy decisions or can be mainly a venue to involve citizens in the deliberation of healthcare policy issues.

Economic value evaluation in disease management programs.

Chronic disease management has been a rapidly growing entity in the 21st century as a strategy for managing chronic illnesses in large populations. However, experience has shown that disease management programs have not been able to demonstrate their financial value. The objectives of disease management programs are to create quality benchmarks, such as principles and guidelines, and to establish a uniform set of metrics and a standardized methodology for evaluating them. In order to illuminate the essence of disease management and its components, as well as the complexity and the problematic nature of performing economic calculations of their profitability and value, we collected data from several reports that dealt with the economic intervention of disease management programs. The disease management economic evaluation is composed of a series of steps, including the following major categories: data/information technology, information generation, assessment/recommendations, actionable customer plans, and program assessment/reassessment. We demonstrate the elements necessary for economic analysis. Disease management is one of the most innovative tools in the managed care environment and is still in the process of being defined. Therefore, objectives should include the creation of quality measures, such as principles and guidelines, and the establishment of a uniform set of metrics and a standardized methodology for evaluating them.

A decade to the Israeli Center for Technology Assessment in Health Care.

The Israeli Center for Technology Assessment in Health Care (ICTAHC) was established in 1998 at the Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research, on foundations set in 1992 by the Medical Technology Assessment Unit. The Center is defined as an independent multidisciplinary research center, whose main aims are to assist in developing processes for the adoption of new technologies, identify and propose health priorities, and serve as an educational center for all stakeholders. Moreover, the Center promotes working relations with overseas counterparts as an essential component for expansion and advancement of the field of health technology assessment. Throughout the years, ICTAHC had contributed significantly to the development of the discipline of health technology assessment in Israel and to actual decision making in the health care system. The Center had outlined the principles, guidelines and overall framework for technology assessment in the country, as well as substantiating the discipline through various research areas, which materialized into a variety of technology-related policy accomplishments. Today, the Center serves as a national focal point in the health care system in Israel, as well as maintaining an active position in the international milieu. It has been a decade since the establishment of ICTAHC. This paper reviews the evolution of the center, describes changes in the HTA field in Israel, identifies areas of focus and main research accomplishments, and illustrates the breadth of potential research scope and projections for the future.

Tele-rehabilitation service delivery journey from prototype to robust in-home use.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to present a retrospective study on clients with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) enrolled in a tele-motion-rehabilitation service program for two or more months. METHODS: Data from 82 clients (46 males; 74 with ABI), aged 22-85 years, are reported. The Kinect-based CogniMotion System (ReAbility Online, Gertner Institute, Tel Hashomer, Israel) provided services that included 30-min biweekly sessions. Participants were evaluated prior to and 2 months following the commencement of service with clinical assessments that measured movements and function of the weaker upper extremity and cognitive abilities. RESULTS: Clients enrolled in the service had intact or mild cognitive impairment, mild-moderate motor impairment but little use of their weak upper extremity for daily activities. They were satisfied with the service and reported high levels of system usability. Post-intervention clinical assessments were performed on about half of the participants after 2 months; significant improvements in active movements of the weak upper extremity, shoulder flexion range of motion and in the Trail Making Test were found (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The service appears to be feasible for people with ABI and effective in important clinical outcomes related to improvements in upper extremity function. Implications for Rehabilitation Tele-rehabilitation provided with Microsoft Kinect 3D sensor virtual reality tracking system is feasible for people with Acquired Brain Injury. People with Acquired Brain Injury in the chronic stage were satisfied with the tele-rehabilitation service and perceived it as beneficial to improve their motor and cognitive abilities The CogniMotion System service appears to be effective in important clinical outcomes related to improvements in upper extremity function.

Year 2006 update of the Israel National List of Health Services.

In Israel, updating of the National List of Health Services is performed on a yearly basis by means of a systematic and structured mechanism for almost a decade. The existence of such a mechanism is vital for keeping medicine up to date, since many innovative and breakthrough medical technologies continuously and frequently evolve. The 2006 update is unique in several aspects, relating both to the mechanism and to the decision-making process. In this article we describe notable issues that arose during the current process: modifications to the update mechanism, the four-phase increase in allocated resources to fund the addition of new medical technologies (including the addition of finances at the expense of the 2007 planned budget), and public funding for high-cost therapies. Finally, we discuss the impact of medical advances on healthcare costs and a suggested constant annual addition to the budget.

Comparison of health care services for career soldiers throughout the world.

Health care systems operate differently in every country and are products of historical and political factors. We compared health care systems for career soldiers in various countries with those of the Israel Defense Forces. Questionnaires requesting data regarding military health care services provided in their countries were sent to military attaches serving in Israel. The countries for which data were gathered include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, England, France, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Poland, Romania, Spain, and the United States. In most countries, career soldiers receive better health care services than civilians, especially in countries with military rule or under military threat.

[Reform in mental health services--from whence and to where].

For years the subject of mental health has been neglected in Israel, and reform of mental health services is now of paramount importance. Psychiatric medicine has altered considerably over the years, and emphasis is shifting from treatment in mental health institutions to treatment at the community level. This transition is the result of the awakening of groups in our society advocating civil rights for the mentally ill and their integration into the community. This process is also bolstered by the advent of new anti-psychotic drugs. However, the social and medical infrastructure set up to deal with these issues has been found lacking. Over the past few years the Minister of Health has appointed a number of committees to address this issue, and they have all recommended extensive reform of mental health services in Israel. The recommendations handed down by the committees are for: (1) Restructure of mental health services, with emphasis on community services and gradual reduction of psychiatric beds; (2) Allocation of additional funding specifically ear-marked for the mentally challenged, enabling transfer of stabilized patients out of the hospital setting and often lengthy and unnecessary hospitalization, into community rehabilitation centers; (3) Transfer of responsibility for health insurance for mentally ill people from the State to the Health Funds, enabling integration of psychiatric treatment into the general treatment framework. The reform has already been initiated. This body of work will review the stages, processes and the difficulties that preceded the reform.

Characteristics of patients seeking health information online via social health networks versus general Internet sites: a comparative study.

BACKGROUND: Camoni.co.il, a Hebrew-language social health network offers advice, consultation, and connection to others with chronic illness. This study compared characteristics and objectives of Camoni.co.il users and individuals seeking medical information through general Internet sites. METHODS: Similar questionnaires were sent to 1009 Internet and 900 Camoni users. Cluster analysis defined four modes of online social health network use: "acquiring information and support", "communicating", "networking" and "browsing". RESULTS: Six hundred and five Internet and 125 Camoni users responded. Diabetes, hypertension, obesity and lung diseases were found more often among general Internet users than Camoni users. Among Camoni users, "acquiring information and support" was the main motivation for individuals over age 55 years, women, those with lower income, chronic pain, obesity and depression. "Communicating" was the main incentive of men, those 20-34 years old, those with less education, or an eating disorder. "Networking" was the most significant motivation for those with multiple sclerosis or depression. Browsing was most frequent among individuals with multiple sclerosis. CONCLUSIONS: Identifying needs of social health network surfers will allow planning unique contents and enhancing social health sites. Physicians might advise patients to use them to obtain support and information regarding their conditions, possibly leading to improved compliance and self-management.