Private Blood Tests Without a Referral in Israel: How It Works

By Dr Michael Cohen · Updated 2026-09-14

At Tel Aviv Doctor you do not need a referral from your kupat cholim to have a blood test: our own doctors order the tests, and a private clinic sits outside the health-fund system, so no kupa paperwork is involved. What a clinic adds over a laboratory alone is the doctor: someone who chooses the right tests for your question and explains the result afterwards, which is how the NHS says results should be handled for its own patients (Blood tests, NHS). At Tel Aviv Doctor, a private clinic on Basel Street in Tel Aviv, that doctor is the one you see for the consultation, and the same doctor reads the result with you.

Do I need a referral for a private blood test?

If you do have a referral, then we can do the test based on that referral and the referring doctor will be responsible for following up the result which we will send to you securely. If you do not yet have a referral, the we'd have to see you for a consultation and will then perform the tests and interpret the results and follow up with you. Some laboratories in Israel also sell certain panels directly, with no doctor involved; the question for you is whether you want a doctor in the loop. The doctor you see confirms which tests make sense for your question, writes the order, and the sample is taken there and then, in the clinic or at your home. Our doctors are Dr Michael Cohen, Dr Kyle Kumin, Dr Tal Fligelman and Dr Hadar Gilad.

If you already have a referral from another doctor, in Israel or abroad, bring it or send it to us in advance. We can usually work from it, and we will tell you if a test on it is not available privately here.

Who can order a private test, and what can be ordered?

Doctors order laboratory tests, and a private clinic's doctors do exactly that. The laboratory we use is licensed in Israel; we do not name it on this site, and we take no commission from it. What can be ordered privately is broad: anything such a laboratory performs, from a full blood count (the test that counts red cells, white cells and platelets) to hormone panels, serology (blood tests that look for antibodies, which show past infection or immunity), vitamins, tumor markers (proteins measured in certain cancers, ordered only when there is a reason) and genetic tests. The limits are clinical rather than administrative: if a test is appropriate, we can usually arrange it.

That second point is the real value of the consultation. A patient asking for "a full check-up" and a patient with three months of fatigue need different panels. Ordering the right tests, and not ordering unnecessary ones, is what the doctor is for. It also protects you from a common trap: healthy people often have one or two values just outside the reference range, and the more tests you run without a reason, the more of those you collect (How to understand your lab results, MedlinePlus).

What happens to the sample and the result?

Blood is taken in the clinic, or at home, at a hotel or at an office across Tel Aviv and the surrounding areas. A standard draw takes about ten minutes.
The sample goes to a licensed Israeli medical laboratory. A few rapid tests can be done in the clinic while you wait.
The laboratory returns the result to the ordering doctor. Routine panels may take less than a day and up to a few days; specialised tests can take longer.
The doctor contacts you, explains the result, and agrees the next step with you: nothing, a repeat test, a change in treatment, or a referral.

Reports are provided in English at no extra cost, and results can be accessed through our secure patient portal. That matters more than it sounds: many overseas insurers will not accept a Hebrew invoice or report (Healthcare for tourists in Israel, Yad L'Olim).

Private test or kupat cholim: which is better?

Both routes use licensed laboratories, and for most tests the laboratory result is the same. The differences are access, follow-up and who pays.

Speed. Privately, the consultation and the blood draw usually happen the same day or within a few days, and the result comes back to a doctor who is expecting it.
Who reads it. Privately, the doctor who ordered the test reviews it with you. Through a kupa, the result typically lands in your online file and you arrange a follow-up if something is flagged.
Cost. A private test is paid for by you. Every Israeli resident is a member of one of the four health funds, which must provide the standard health basket set by law (Health insurance, National Insurance Institute of Israel); tests ordered by your kupa doctor within that basket are covered. Some supplementary plans refund part of a private test; we cannot advise on that, and you claim from your plan yourself.
When the kupa route is better. If your kupa doctor is already managing a condition and the test is part of that plan, keep it there so the result lands in the file they work from. If you need a test that is only funded through a specific kupa programme, that is the route. Our doctors will tell you when that is the case; it is part of the consultation, not a sales conversation.

What if I am a visitor, or I have no kupat cholim?

Tourists cannot use the kupat cholim clinics at all; a visitor who needs a doctor in Israel goes to a private physician (Healthcare for tourists in Israel, Yad L'Olim). The same applies in practice to people waiting for kupa membership or living here on a visa. The process above is the same; bring any previous results you have so the doctor can compare. Travel insurance must be in place before you travel for a claim to be valid, and receipts should be in English (Healthcare for tourists in Israel, Yad L'Olim), which is how we issue them.

Common questions

Can I just walk into a laboratory in Israel and ask for a test? For some panels, yes: a few laboratories perform tests directly, with no doctor. What you do not get that way is someone choosing the tests for your situation and reading the result with you. At Tel Aviv Doctor the consultation does both, and you leave with the blood taken.

Does the doctor decide what I can test? The doctor decides with you. If you ask for a test that is appropriate to perform privately and it is reasonable for your situation, it is performed. If it would not answer your question, the doctor says so and suggests what would.

Will my kupa see the result? Not automatically. The result goes to the doctor who ordered it and to you. You can pass it to your kupa doctor; we provide the report in a form they can use.

Is a private result as good as a kupa result? Both are produced by licensed laboratories under the same standards. The difference is in who orders, how fast, and who explains the result.

Booking

Book a consultation, call +972 (0)+972 (0)54-941-4243, or message us on WhatsApp. If you know which tests you want, say so; if you are not sure, that is what the consultation is for. Full details are on our private blood tests page, and if your test needs fasting, see how to prepare for a fasting blood test.

This article is provided by Tel Aviv Doctor for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice and is not a substitute for consultation with a qualified medical professional. If you have a medical concern, please contact Tel Aviv Doctor, your own physician, or call Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service on 101.

References

Frequently asked questions

Can I just walk into a laboratory in Israel and ask for a test?: For some panels, yes: a few laboratories sell tests directly, with no doctor. What you do not get that way is someone choosing the tests for your situation and reading the result with you. At Tel Aviv Doctor the consultation does both.
Does the doctor decide what I can test?: The doctor decides with you. If a test is legal to perform privately and reasonable for your situation, it is ordered. If it would not answer your question, the doctor says so and suggests what would.
Will my kupa see the result?: Not automatically. The result goes to the doctor who ordered it and to you. You can pass it to your kupa doctor; we provide the report in a form they can use.
Is a private result as good as a kupa result?: Both are produced by licensed laboratories under the same standards. The difference is in who orders, how fast, and who explains the result.