The National Program for Quality Indicators in Community Healthcare originated in 2000 as a research project led by Professor Avi Porath of the Ben-Gurion University under the sponsorship of the Israel National Institute for Health Policy Research. The Project benefits from the collaborative efforts of all four health plans operating in Israel, the Ministry of Health, the Israel Medical Association and numerous other professional medical associations.

On account of the Project’s success in advancing the quality of community healthcare in Israel, in 2004 the Ministry of Health adopted and established the project as a national program with the supervision and guidance of the Israel National Institute for Health Policy Research and the financial support of the National Health Commission. The first report on quality indicators in community healthcare in Israel was published in 2004 and covered a three-year period – 2001 to 2003. Since then, additional reports have been released. In May 2010, administration of the program was transferred to a team affiliated with the Braun School of Public Health, Hebrew University of Jerusalem-Hadassah under the directorship of Professor Orly Manor.

The purpose of the Program is to maintain continuous and dynamic measures of healthcare quality that include preventive services, screening, treatment and management of disease. This information is intended for use by policy makers as well as the public in order to assess the quality of healthcare provided by the health plans. All this is with the ultimate goal of improving and enhancing healthcare services provided to the residents of Israel.

To achieve this goal, the Program publishes an annual report with national-level quality indicators in community healthcare. These reports enable a systematic assessment of developments in quality healthcare over time and the detection of issues related to information systems and health services that require intervention and improvement. Evaluation of quality care in Israel is enhanced by the comparison with other similar international quality indicators of community healthcare.

The quality indicators are meticulously chosen, based on international experience as well as scientific evidence, consultations with clinical experts and with the consensus of representatives from the health plans. The calculation of the indicators is subject to both internal and external audits.