Private Specialist Appointment Within 24-48 Hours

Some symptoms are not an emergency, yet cannot wait months for a public appointment. EliteMed's urgent track offers a senior subspecialist within 24 to 48 hours where appropriate, no referral needed. Below: who it suits, how it differs from the ER and urgent care, and what happens next.

When is an urgent specialist appointment right, not the ER?

For a new or worsening symptom needing evaluation within days that is not life-threatening: sudden hearing loss, changing skin lesion, new irregular heartbeat, blood in the stool, back pain radiating to the leg. Chest pain, sudden one-sided weakness or a first seizure mean the ER.

• ENT: sudden one-sided hearing loss, new rotational vertigo, hoarseness over three weeks.
• Dermatology: mole or lesion changing in shape, size or color; non-healing wound; new spreading rash.
• Cardiology: recent irregular or rapid heartbeat, new exertional breathlessness, newly found high blood pressure.
• Gastroenterology and proctology: blood in the stool, bowel changes over weeks, unexplained weight loss, difficulty swallowing.
• Orthopedics and pain: back pain radiating to the leg or with numbness, function-limiting joint pain, sports injury with immediate swelling.
• Neurology: new, unusual headache; persistent numbness; recurrent dizziness; memory changes.
• Urology and nephrology: blood in the urine, difficulty urinating, abnormal kidney function tests.
• Children: recurrent abdominal pain or headaches, halted growth, developmental concerns.

ER immediately for chest pain or pressure, severe breathlessness, sudden weakness, paralysis or speech disturbance, first seizure, unstoppable bleeding, head injury with vomiting or confusion, high fever with stiff neck, or loss of consciousness; in doubt, go to the ER or call Magen David Adom, 101.

How does it differ from the ER and urgent care?

The ER treats life-threatening emergencies immediately, without a specialist in your field. Urgent care centers (such as Terem) offer a general practitioner's fast response to simple acute problems. An urgent specialist appointment is a planned visit within a day or two with a senior subspecialist, for diagnosis and treatment plan.

The routes complement each other: ER patients discharged for "further specialist evaluation" complete it here without waiting, and a condition needing the ER found here is referred immediately.

How does the urgent track at EliteMed work?

Three steps: describe the problem by phone, WhatsApp or the website; the team matches you to the right subspecialist, not the first available doctor; the visit is within 24 to 48 hours at the Ayala 360 Center in Modi'in and ends with a diagnosis, treatment plan and written summary.

Step 1: Getting in touch

Describe the symptom, its onset and what has been checked, via the contact page or online booking. The team assesses urgency and directs you to the right field, or to the ER.

Step 2: Matching you to the right physician

Most fields have several subspecialists among the roughly 60 senior physicians: radiating back pain goes to a spine or pain specialist, a skin lesion to a dermatologist. On-site ultrasound or echocardiography is booked for the same visit where possible.

Step 3: The visit

Bring ID, relevant summaries, recent blood tests, imaging (CT, MRI, ultrasound) with reports, medication list and any ER discharge letter; note the sequence of events and your questions. You leave with a written summary for insurer and family doctor.

Which specialties offer the urgent track?

All of the center's consultation fields, from cardiology, orthopedics and pain medicine to nephrology, geriatrics and pediatric specialists (full list below). Availability follows each physician's clinic days, so in some fields the appointment is in two days rather than one.

Specialty pages:

• Pain management
• Orthopedics
• Endocrinology and diabetes
• ENT
• Geriatrics
• Gastroenterology
• Gynecology
• Pediatric specialists
• Cardiology
• Dermatology
• Neurology
• Urology
• Pulmonology and sleep
• Nephrology
• Ophthalmology
• Rheumatology
• Proctology
• Surgery
• Vascular surgery
• Podiatry
• Allergy and immunology
• Ultrasound and biopsy
• Prenatal scans
• Osteopathy
• Medical aesthetics
• Plastic surgery
• Clinical nutrition
• Occupational medicine

Ultrasound and biopsy, echocardiography, ENT endoscopy and skin lesion removal are done on site; surgery and gastrointestinal endoscopy are referred to the hospital on an expedited track.

Does an urgent specialist appointment cost more?

The fee is given at booking and depends on the consultation type, physician and accompanying tests. The center publishes no price list, so ask what the visit includes. Insurance treats it like any specialist consultation, with invoice and medical summary.

What affects the total cost:

• A first consultation versus a follow-up visit.
• Same-visit tests: ultrasound, echocardiography or ENT endoscopy.
• On-site procedures: an image-guided injection or skin lesion removal.

Does insurance cover an urgent specialist appointment?

Yes, like any private specialist consultation. Most private health policies (Harel, Phoenix, Menora and others) and the health funds' supplementary plans cover or reimburse such consultations, subject to policy terms. Urgency does not change your entitlement.

Claims usually need an invoice and receipt in the patient's name, the visit summary and sometimes the insurer's form. Supplementary plans (each health fund's optional add-on insurance) differ in their terms; check with your fund first. Form 17 (Tofes 17), the fund's voucher for in-network providers, is not needed. Health-basket rights: Israeli Ministry of Health.

What happens after the urgent visit?

You leave with a written summary of diagnosis, recommendations and follow-up. Further tests get an expedited referral; those available on site are scheduled promptly. With consent the summary also goes to your family doctor; follow-up, when needed, is with the same physician.

• Clarified and treatable: treatment plan, sometimes with a procedure already done, and follow-up as needed.
• Further evaluation: expedited referral for imaging, laboratory or invasive hospital tests, urgency noted in the letter, which also helps secure an early public-system date.
• Hospital treatment: the physician, who works there, directs you to the right department or clinic and may continue treating you.

For cross-field problems, such as back pain needing a pain physician and a neurologist, the physicians consult each other and the second visit is at the same location.

Medically reviewed by the center's physicians. Updated September 2026. General information, not personal medical advice.