Socialized occupational medicine in Israel: past, present, and future

Occupational health in Israel is unique as it was originally established as a socialized service which anchored in extensive legislation and is accessible to all employees and employers without copayment. We review historical processes and legal basis that led to current structure of public occupational medicine services in Israel. Some of these go back a century and others extend way back to biblical times. Representative case studies from the field are used to illustrate its scope of practice. Legislative changes that exempted the employers from participation in financing occupational health have led to severe budget cuts, jeopardizing the future provision and key principles of occupational healthcare. We discuss future aspects of recommended development vectors for policy making that will preserve the structure of occupational health services and benefits it offers to all workers in Israel.