Health Ministry Maps Wide MRI and Elective Surgery Wait-Time Gaps

Israel’s Health Ministry published its first comprehensive national wait-time reports for outpatient MRI scans and 19 elective-surgery categories. Israel performed 570,076 MRI scans in 2025, up 8.8% from 2024, while the median time from a doctor’s referral to a scan fell from 37 to 35 days. The surgery data, covering 28 general hospitals in 2024, showed major institutional gaps, including median cataract waits of 22 days at Laniado and 202 at Carmel. The ministry said Israel’s MRI and five reported elective-surgery wait times compare favorably with public health systems in other developed countries, despite fewer MRI machines per capita.