Clalit Health Services has introduced a new medical service: online pediatric consultations under the supervision of Schneider Children’s specialists. The service was established at the initiative of Clalit, of which Schneider Children’s is a member, and is available through its website at www.clalit.org.il, or by calling Clalit at *2700, which redirects callers to the pediatricians’ hotline. Prof. Yehezkel Waisman, Director of Schneider Children’s Emergency Medicine Unit (ER), will head the online consultation service which will be conducted via internet video or phone outside clinical hours. The service will be advantageous in a variety of emergency situations such as parents seeking an immediate opinion for a child with a high fever or other emergency condition, thus obviating a visit to the ER or local first-aid clinic.

Clalit is one of the first HMOs in the world and the first HMO in Israel to offer its members who have children up to the age of 18, an opportunity to consult with a pediatric specialist either through online video and home webcams or telephone. The Online Pediatric Service will operate outside normal clinical hours on weekdays between 20:00 to 06:00 the following morning, and from 13:00 on Fridays (or holiday eves) until 06:00 the following Sunday (or weekday after the holiday).

The virtual visit provides a visual impression of the patient’s condition and allows the pediatrician to make an initial diagnosis and appropriate clinical decisions in real-time, such as whether the child should be taken to the ER. The service improves the accessibility of Clalit’s doctors and accords members with an opportunity for an immediate response to children’s medical needs outside normal clinic hours.

According to Eli Depes, Clalit CEO, who has spearheaded the vision of online services, “to be first, means to lead in all parameters. Our challenge is to provide medical services suitable to modern life – through excellence, professionalism, and maximum convenience. The Online Pediatric Service will be available everywhere for all conditions – not only in clinics and hospitals, but also at home. The network represents another significant milestone in Clalit’s leadership role.”

Mr. Depes emphasized that “online consultation demands special training in order to maintain the standard of professional excellence to which we are committed. The service is supervised by the best pediatric hospital in the country – Schneider Children’s – and its consultants are highly experienced pediatric specialists who have undergone PTA (Pediatric Telephone Advice) training in online medical diagnosis, as already adopted by hundreds of hospitals around the world”.

According to Prof. Waisman, “online medical consultation can address a variety of every day medical conditions. Due to its very nature as a virtual service, we can help prevent the spread of diseases between patients in waiting rooms in hospital clinics, the ER or in emergency first-aid clinics.”


January 2010