Israeli hospitals most crowded among developed countries

Israel has the most crowded hospitals among Western countries, said a new report released on Thursday by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The report analyzes health trends in its 34 member countries, including Turkey, Israel, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and India. The occupancy rate of beds in Israeli hospitals is the highest among all OECD countries, 98 percent in Israel, compare to about 77 percent on average in the OECD countries. The occupancy rate in the U.S. is about 64 percent and in the Netherlands is about 49 percent, according to the report. According to the report, the number of hospital beds in Israel was 3.3 per 1,000 population in 2011, much lower than the OECD average (4.8 beds). As was the case for most OECD countries, the number of hospital beds per capita in Israel has fallen over time. This decline has coincided with a reduction of average length of stays in hospitals and an increase in the number of day surgery. Israel also ranks far below the OECD average in terms of health spending per capita, with spending of 2,239 U.S. dollars in 2011, compared to 8,508 dollars per capita in the U.S., 4,495 dollars in Germany and an OECD average of 3,339 dollars. Despite the relatively low level of health expenditure in Israel, there are more physicians per capita than in many OECD countries, the report shows. In 2011, Israel had 3.3 practicing physicians per 1,000 population, just above the OECD average of 3. 2. Most OECD countries have enjoyed large gains in life expectancy over the past decades, thanks to improvements in living conditions, public health interventions and progress in medical care. Life expectancy in Israel is 81.8 years, well above the average OECD of 80.1 years. Switzerland registered the highest life expectancy at 82.8 years.