Financial incentives as a governmental tool to bridge the medical manpower gap between Israel’s center and periphery

One of the major health disparities between Israel’s center and periphery relates to the physician to population ratio. To overcome it, the Israeli government launched a financial incentive program in 2011, in an attempt to encourage physicians to work in the periphery and in specialties experiencing major shortages. A recent IJHPR study found that residents who choose to work in a peripheral institution gave more weight to the grant in their decision-making process than did residents from central institutions. This finding lends support to the rationale behind the government program and suggests that it is an effective means of achieving the desired goal. This commentary details how the program was repeatedly adjusted during the 2011–2018 period, in light of changing needs. As financial and human resources are expected to remain scarce in the future, the program must continue to be constantly evaluated and adjusted in order to maintain its effectiveness.