Can a non-resident choose their own surgeon privately in an Israeli hospital?

A patient flying in for surgery in Israel almost always wants the same thing: not just a good hospital, but a specific, named surgeon they have researched and trust. In a public system that allocates you to whoever is on rotation, that is not guaranteed. The route that lets you choose is called Sharap, and whether it is open to you depends heavily on which hospital you are looking at.

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Detailed Explanation

Sharap stands for sherutim refui'im prati'im, private medical services. Where it operates, it does exactly what an incoming patient wants: it lets you personally select the senior physician who will perform your operation or manage your care, rather than accepting the duty roster. The catch is geography. Sharap inside public hospitals is concentrated in Jerusalem, at institutions such as Hadassah and Shaare Zedek, and is available at the country's private hospitals. In the large public hospitals elsewhere, in-house private choice of surgeon has long been restricted, so if you want to choose your operator in Tel Aviv or Haifa, the practical answer is usually a private hospital rather than Sharap within a government one.

Money and timing are the next reality. Choosing your surgeon through Sharap is a private fee layered on top of the cost of the procedure and the hospital stay, and it is typically payable as a deposit before you are admitted. For a non-resident with no Israeli health fund behind them, there is no public subsidy in the background, so you are paying the full economic cost of both the operation and the named-physician premium. The trade is not only choice but speed, because a private slot can usually be scheduled within a short window instead of joining a public waiting list that can run for months.

Your legal protections do not change because you are paying privately or because you are foreign. The Patient Rights Law 1996 governs informed consent, the standard of care, and your right to your own medical file, and it applies to a Sharap patient and an overseas patient just as it applies to an Israeli on the public track. That matters in two directions: you are entitled to a clear explanation and to your records, and the hospital is entitled to be paid, which is why the payment guarantee is taken up front. If you are planning a procedure from abroad, our medical tourism guide for non-residents covers the practical arrangements around admission and payment.

In Practice: Under the Patient Rights Law 1996, a non-resident keeps the right to informed consent and to their medical records whether or not they pay privately, but choosing your surgeon through Sharap is a chargeable extra: at the Jerusalem hospitals that run it the physician's personal fee commonly falls between NIS 15,000 and NIS 40,000 on top of the hospital's charge for the operation, taken as a deposit before admission and overseen within the framework supervised by the Ministry of Health. A private slot can usually be booked within one to three weeks rather than the multi-month public queue.

Key Considerations

• Sharap lets you choose your treating or operating physician for a private fee.
• It is concentrated in Jerusalem hospitals and in private hospitals, not in most public hospitals elsewhere.
• The named-surgeon fee is additional to the procedure and hospital costs, and a deposit is usual.
• Non-residents pay the full cost, with no health-fund subsidy behind them.
• The Patient Rights Law 1996 protects consent, care standards, and record access regardless of route.

When to Consult a Lawyer

This question typically requires professional legal advice when:

• A hospital bill or deposit demand looks inconsistent with what was quoted before admission.
• You believe the care fell short and want to understand your rights under the Patient Rights Law 1996.
• You need help securing your medical records from abroad after treatment.

A qualified adviser can review the financial terms before you commit and step in if a billing or care dispute arises.

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Speak With an Israeli Attorney

We help non-resident patients review private treatment and payment terms before admission, and we pursue billing and patient-rights disputes with Israeli hospitals when something goes wrong.

Contact us for a confidential initial consultation.