The goals of the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) are to promote the professional, scientific and economic affairs of its members, to maintain a suitable professional and ethical level in the medical profession and to attend to the status of the physician and medicine in Israel.
The IMA functions in the following areas:
The professional area
The IMA, as a representative labor organization, negotiates with employers and signs collective agreements and settlements which define physician working conditions, employment benefits and salaries.
The scientific-professional area
The IMA, through its Scientific Council, is the deciding body with respect to all aspects of the professional ethics of physicians.
The IMA determines and oversees specialization procedures and acts to promote and develop continuing education in medicine.
The IMA incorporates associations and societies from all medical specialty areas. These associations and societies constitute the scientific and professional basis of the medical community in Israel and of the activities of the Israeli Medical Association.
The IMA supports the activities of the specialty associations.
The IMA is a member of international organizations for the purpose of acquiring knowledge and learning from the experience of other countries. It maintains close mutual relations with medical associations worldwide.
The IMA is entitled to join any international professional organization as a branch, department or any other organizational unit.
The ethical area
The Ethics Board formulates the physician’s code of ethics which is binding following the approval of the national convention. In between conventions special approval of the Central Executive Committee is required to undertake changes or additions to the code of ethics. The ethics committees and the Ethics Board handle all issues relating to medical ethics, complaints between colleagues as well as complaints filed by the general public against physicians.
The legal area
The IMA is actively involved in legislation pertaining to medical issues and to the medical profession in Israel. Through its Legal Department, the IMA handles legal aspects relating to the physician community and their work in the public. The Legal Department accompanies IMA activities and renders legal counsel to the various IMA entities.
The quality improvement area
The IMA coordinates the activities of the medical community in the area of quality assurance in medicine and risk management: informed consent forms, scientific aspects of clinical guidelines and follow up of surveys and investigations. The IMA also takes action required from time to time to promote the goal of quality assurance in medicine.
The welfare area
The IMA offers various services pertaining to social benefits and welfare including medical insurance (a benefit included in IMA membership), a consumer club, seminars for retirement planning and activities for pensioners, special financial assistance, retirement homes, funds and more.
The public area
The IMA is working to ensure the public's rights regarding medical care; promote medical education and preserve patient rights.
The IMA organizes symposia and meetings on various topics for physicians and for the general public. It also prepares position papers on issues on the public agenda pertaining to physicians and the medical profession aimed at creating benchmarks for physicians and presenting its position to the public.
The IMA invests in creating and maintaining relations between physicians in Israel and in the Diaspora by recruiting Jewish physicians abroad, through the external membership project, and by organizing international conferences of Jewish physicians. Additionally, research and advanced training scholarships are awarded to young Israeli specialists for training abroad.