A full 3,068 family physicians in Israel are not specialists and have done only a paid internship, and not residency in a hospital, Kan Reshet Bet reported Monday morning.
According to a Health Ministry report, 52% of all family physicians in Israel have not done residency in their field.
Family doctors in Israel's periphery are considered to be of a lesser quality than family doctors in central Israel. The northern city of Karmiel is considered the worst-off in Israel: 80% of its family doctors have not done residency in their field. Akko (Acre) is in a similar position: 80% of family physicians have not done residency in their field; in Ashdod, the percentage is 75%.
The study's authors noted that doctors in the periphery are not only considered to be of a lesser quality - they are also considered less skilled, and this has consequences for the quality of medical care that they can offer.
In their opinion, family physicians must do residency, just like an orthopedist must do a residency in orthopedics, and therefore this phenomenon is improper and must be eliminated.