Health care in the Netherlands
The interaction between organization,
professional and patient
Marja E.C. Kaag, R.N., M.S.
Research Center Primary/Secondary Health Care
of the University Hospital Vriji Universiteit
1. INTRODUCTION
a. Overview
b. General principles
c. Financing health care
d. Good quality of health care?
a. OVERVIEW
A very common way of speaking about health care is by making a division between primary, secondary and tertiary care.
Primary care is the care that is directly accessible to the patient. In the Netherlands it contains: general practices which are the practices of family doctors, practices for dental services, practices of midwives and paramedics, suppliers of medicine (for instance pharmacies), institutions for social health which include practices of specialists that are not attached to a hospital, and home care.
Secondary care is defined as the care that provides specialist diagnosis and treatment facilities. The settings are general hospitals and university hospitals, mental hospitals, and institutions for mentally handicapped.
Tertiary care. The most well-known part of the tertiary care is the care that is given in nursing homes.
Transmural care is related to this definition. The Dutch word 'muur' means 'wall' in English. Transmural care therefore means: care that is given through the walls of the institutions.
In the Netherlands there used to be a gap between primary and secondary health care. The last years, many transmural initiatives are taken, organizing care that transcends the barriers of the fields.
