| name | israeli-drug-database |
| description | Query the Israeli pharmaceutical database for drug information, health basket coverage, generic alternatives, and pricing. Use when user asks about Israeli medications, "trufot", drug names, "sal briut" drug coverage, generic drugs, drug prices in Israel, prescription requirements, or medication safety info. Enhances the israel-drugs MCP server with health basket context and patient-facing guidance. Do NOT use for medical advice, dosage recommendations, or diagnosis. Do NOT use for non-Israeli drug registries. |
| license | MIT |
| allowed-tools | WebFetch |
| compatibility | Network access helpful for drug registry lookups. Enhanced by the israel-drugs MCP server. |
Israeli Drug Database
Critical Note
This skill provides DRUG INFORMATION ONLY, not medical advice. Never recommend
specific medications, dosages, or treatment changes. Always direct users to their
physician or pharmacist for personal medication questions. Drug coverage and pricing
data may change -- verify with the user's kupat cholim for current copay amounts.
Instructions
Step 1: Identify Drug Query Type
| Query | Action |
|---|
| Drug lookup | Search registry by name or ingredient |
| Health basket status | Check sal briut coverage tier |
| Generic alternatives | Find equivalent generics by active ingredient |
| Drug pricing | Look up regulated maximum price |
| Safety info | Retrieve side effects, interactions, pregnancy category |
| Prescription status | Check if OTC or prescription required |
Step 2: Drug Lookup
Search the MoH drug registry:
- By trade name: Search Hebrew or English brand name (e.g., "Acamol", "Optalgin")
- By generic/active ingredient: Search by active substance (e.g., "paracetamol", "dipyrone")
- By registration number: Direct lookup by mispar rishum
Key fields returned:
| Field | Hebrew | Description |
|---|
| Trade name | shem miskhari | Brand name as marketed |
| Generic name | shem bilti muskam / shem generi | International nonproprietary name (INN) |
| Active ingredient | chomer peeil | Active substance and strength |
| Dosage form | tzurat matan | Tablet, capsule, injection, etc. |
| Manufacturer | yatzran | Company holding marketing authorization |
| ATC code | kod ATC | WHO anatomical therapeutic chemical code |
| Registration status | matzav rishum | Active, suspended, or cancelled |
| Prescription type | sug mircham | Prescription (mircham), OTC (lo mircham), restricted |
The live registry API. The canonical machine-readable source is the MoH Israel Drug Registry backend at israeldrugs.health.gov.il/GovServiceList/IDRServer/ (the same API the israel-drugs MCP wraps). Key endpoints: SearchByName (search by Hebrew or English name, or a partial string, via the val field, one field handles both languages), GetSpecificDrug, SearchGenericByDragRegNum (generics by registration number), and SearchByPackageBarcode (EAN barcode). The JSON uses these real field names (not the transliterations in the table above): dragHebName / dragEnName, dragRegNum (registration number, e.g. 020 16 20534 00), dosageForm, activeComponents[].componentName plus activeComponentsCompareName for exact ingredient matching, dragRegOwner (manufacturer), prescription (boolean), health (boolean, true = in the health basket), customerPrice and per-package packagesPrices[] (the regulated price), barcodes, indications, and iscanceled. Treat these as an undocumented public backend: cache results and do not bulk-scrape.
Step 3: Health Basket Coverage
Check if a drug is covered in the national health basket:
Coverage tiers:
| Tier | Patient Cost | Typical Drugs |
|---|
| Full basket -- no copay | Free or minimal fee | Essential/life-saving medications |
| Full basket -- with copay | Fixed copay per package | Most chronic condition drugs |
| Partial basket | Percentage-based copay | Newer/expensive medications |
| Not in basket | Full price (or via shaban) | New drugs pending committee review |
Copay ranges (approximate):
- Generic drug: ~10-20 NIS per package
- Brand-name (when generic exists): ~30-50 NIS per package
- Specialty/biologic: Variable, often subsidized for qualifying patients
How to check: Query sal briut formulary via MoH data, or check kupat cholim website. Note: the registry API returns only whether a drug is in the basket (health boolean) and its regulated price (customerPrice); the copay TIER and exact copay amount above come from each kupat cholim, not the registry, so confirm those on the kupah's site.
Freshness note: The national health basket (sal briut) is updated once a year. A public committee (vaadat sal ha-briut) reviews candidate drugs and technologies, and the new list takes effect in January. The current year's basket additions and the committee's recommendations are published on gov.il under the health basket topic: https://www.gov.il/he/departments/topics/health_basket_drugs. Always confirm coverage against the most recent annual list, since a drug's status can change between basket cycles.
Step 4: Generic Alternatives
To find generic alternatives:
- Identify the active ingredient (chomer peeil) of the brand-name drug
- Search the registry for all products with the same active ingredient and strength. The API does this directly: call
SearchGenericByDragRegNum with the brand's dragRegNum, or match on the activeComponentsCompareName returned for every product.
- Filter for currently registered (active status) products
- Compare:
- Same active ingredient and strength
- Same dosage form (tablet, capsule, etc.)
- Different manufacturer (generic producer)
- Typically 40-60% lower price
Common Israeli generics:
| Brand Name | Generic Name | Active Ingredient |
|---|
| Acamol | Paracetamol generics | Paracetamol |
| Optalgin | Dipyrone generics | Dipyrone (metamizole) |
| Ibufen | Ibuprofen generics | Ibuprofen |
| Losec | Omeprazole generics | Omeprazole |
| Lipitor | Atorvastatin generics | Atorvastatin |
| Norvasc | Amlodipine generics | Amlodipine |
Step 5: Drug Safety Information
Provide safety context (NOT medical advice):
Patient information leaflet (alon la-tzarchan):
- Available in Hebrew for all registered drugs
- Published on MoH website and inside drug packaging
- Contains: Indications, contraindications, side effects, dosage
Drug interactions:
- Cross-reference by active ingredient
- Common interaction categories: blood thinners, diabetes medications, blood pressure drugs
- Always recommend consulting pharmacist for interaction checks
Pregnancy categories:
| Category | Meaning |
|---|
| A | No risk demonstrated in human studies |
| B | No risk in animal studies, limited human data |
| C | Risk cannot be ruled out |
| D | Evidence of risk, may be used when benefit outweighs |
| X | Contraindicated in pregnancy |
Note: the FDA retired the A/B/C/D/X letter categories in 2015 in favour of narrative pregnancy and lactation labelling. Many Israeli patient leaflets still reference the letter system, so users may encounter it, but treat it as legacy and always defer to the current leaflet and the prescribing physician.
Recall and safety alerts:
- MoH publishes drug safety alerts and recalls on
gov.il (the Pharmaceutical Division)
- Adverse-event (side-effect) reports go to the MoH Side Effects Reporting Form (טופס דיווח על תופעות לוואי), run by the MoH Pharmacovigilance and Drug Information Department. ("Yellow Card" is the UK MHRA scheme, not Israel's, do not use that term for Israel.)
Step 6: Prescription Status
Israeli prescription categories:
| Type | Hebrew | Meaning |
|---|
| OTC (lo mircham) | lo mircham | Available without prescription at pharmacies |
| Prescription (mircham) | mircham | Requires physician prescription |
| Restricted (mircham meyuchad) | mircham meyuchad | Specialist prescription or hospital-only |
| Narcotic (sam mefakach) | sam mefakach | Controlled substance, special prescription form |
Examples
Example 1: Drug Lookup
User says: "Tell me about Acamol"
Result: Acamol -- Trade name for paracetamol (acetaminophen). Active ingredient: Paracetamol 500mg (tablet form). OTC -- no prescription needed. In health basket with minimal copay. Multiple generic alternatives available. Common uses: pain relief, fever reduction. Max daily dose: consult leaflet (refer to physician).
Example 2: Generic Alternative
User says: "Is there a cheaper alternative to Lipitor?"
Result: Lipitor contains atorvastatin. Multiple generic atorvastatin products are registered in Israel at the same strengths (10mg, 20mg, 40mg, 80mg). Generics are typically 40-60% cheaper. All covered in health basket. Switching from brand to generic requires physician approval -- discuss with your doctor.
Example 3: Health Basket Check
User says: "Is Keytruda covered by kupat cholim?"
Result: Keytruda (pembrolizumab) is partially in the health basket for specific approved indications (e.g., certain cancers). Coverage depends on diagnosis and indication. For indications not yet in basket, may be available through supplementary insurance (shaban) or compassionate use. Contact kupat cholim oncology coordinator for specific eligibility.
Bundled Resources
Scripts
scripts/lookup_drug.py - Look up common Israeli medications with health basket coverage status, find generic alternatives for brand-name drugs, and display pregnancy risk categories and Israeli prescription classification types. Supports subcommands: common-drugs, generics, pregnancy-categories, prescription-types. Run: python scripts/lookup_drug.py --help
References
references/drug-registry-guide.md - MoH drug registry field definitions (trade name, ATC code, registration status, etc.), Israeli prescription category breakdown (OTC, mircham, mircham meyuchad, sam mefakach), health basket copay tiers, and generic drug switching guidance. Consult when interpreting registry data fields or explaining coverage tiers to users.
Recommended MCP Servers
| MCP Server | What it adds | Link |
|---|
| israel-drugs | Tools for querying the Israeli MoH drug registry (trade names, active ingredients, registration status) to pair with this skill's health-basket context and patient-facing guidance | https://agentskills.co.il/he/mcp/israel-drugs |
Gotchas
- Israeli drug registration uses local brand names that differ from international names. The same active ingredient may have different trade names in Israel vs. the US or Europe. Agents may use international brand names that Israeli pharmacies will not recognize.
- The Israeli drug formulary (sal habri'ut) determines which medications are subsidized. Agents may recommend a medication without checking if it is in the sal, leading to unexpected out-of-pocket costs.
- Drug prices in Israel are regulated by the Ministry of Health. The maximum retail price (mechir mufchach) is fixed and different from US or European prices. Agents should not use international drug pricing.
- Israeli prescriptions use the metric system exclusively. Agents may convert dosages from imperial measurements or use non-standard abbreviations.
Reference Links
Troubleshooting
Error: "Drug not found in registry"
Cause: Drug may be registered under different name, or not registered in Israel
Solution: Try searching by active ingredient instead of brand name. Some international brands are marketed under different names in Israel. Check if the drug is registered at all -- not all drugs approved abroad are registered in Israel.
Error: "Health basket status unclear"
Cause: Drug may be covered for specific indications only, or recently added/removed
Solution: Health basket is updated annually. Check the most recent published formulary. For edge cases, contact the kupat cholim's pharmaceutical committee (vaada le-trufot).
Error: "Price information unavailable"
Cause: Reading a stale source, or the drug is genuinely hospital-only.
Solution: The registry API returns the regulated price directly in customerPrice and per-package packagesPrices[], so query SearchByName / GetSpecificDrug rather than assuming the price is unavailable. Only genuinely hospital-administered drugs are absent from the retail price list; for those, check with the local pharmacy.
