Nephrology in Israel

This chapter describes the Israeli health system, kidney disease epidemiology in adult and pediatric populations, the major causes of chronic kidney disease, renal replacement therapies, and strategies to improve the quality of medical practices provided to kidney patients. We also portray the history and highlights of Israeli nephrology. Nephrology was established as a new specialty in Israel in the 1960s, implementing the use of dialysis and transplantation as treatment for end-stage renal disease, in parallel with these developments worldwide. According to the National Health Insurance law, all renal replacement therapies are provided to patients without charge. Remarkably, diabetes mellitus is the main cause of end-stage renal disease. The diversity of the population and high rates of consanguineous and intra-community marriages serve as a fertile source for studies in the field of genetic kidney disease. Recently, the Israeli Society of Nephrology and Hypertension has set major goals for establishing chronic kidney disease screening programs, implementing national quality measures, increasing consent rates of kidney donors, and advancing clinical and basic research in nephrology and hypertension.