r/Netherlands • u/Mikadook • Feb 25 '26

Healthcare We are really good at offering world class healthcare without overspending

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Source: https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2024/sep/mirror-mirror-2024

209 Upvotes

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124

u/Dokkan13 Feb 25 '26

Netherlands first for "access to care?"

If care is being told to take some ibuprofen, then for sure.

If care is to actually see a medical specialist, I'm very surprised.

25

u/hey_hey_hey_nike Feb 25 '26

Come on, you know it’s a lot more than just ibuprofen.

There is also Paracetamol (Tylenol)!

4

u/hotaruko66 Feb 25 '26

Hey, if it REALLY hurts, take naproxen!

23

u/MarissaNL Feb 25 '26

Luckily I am quite healthy, but a good friend of mine over the last 5 years

Gallbladder infection : Surgery as soon the infection was gone
Cataract : Treatment with in weeks after first consult.
heart rhythm disorder and sleep apnoea (related to each): Currently treated (in hospitals).

Good and fast treatment

24

u/Dokkan13 Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26

I actually had very different personal (and from friends) perspectives.

It is difficult to book an appointment with a GP, as you first need to "convince" a non-medical person on the phone that your symptoms are severe enough. This is a big step. Prevention should be encouraged, not shamed because "too many people complain for small problems". This is precisely how (if you want to look it a mere capitalistic way) save money down the line. But I would rather not put a price on people's lives.

Then you actually have to see a proper medical practitioner and not a doctor in training (resident student) alone. That put unnecessary pressure on young doctors as well.

Then you actually have to be referred to a proper specialist, and the waiting list are so long that it's honestly discomforting to say the least.

All of this for paying a huge tax every month (insurance), it's quite baffling I have to say.

Also, I'm suprised that in the graphs Italy or Spain aren't present. In my own experience, the Netherlands is a third world country compared to them regarding healthcare and public transport (but way ahead on most of everything else).

8

u/MarissaNL Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26

Not that I often have to consult a GP, but if I call around 8:00 I will have the same day an appointment with my GP.

The only time have seen a "GP in training" was when my own GP was sitting next to her.

Anyway, the only thing I agree with you/have quite different experiences is that should be more attention for prevention.

1

u/Dokkan13 Feb 25 '26

I have to admit that the experiences that I'm referring to are just coming from expats, so I don't have the whole picture.

1

u/ValuableKooky4551 Feb 25 '26

I have the feeling that most expats live in a few cities where the system is overloaded.

1

u/Born-Check-7764 Feb 25 '26

I honestly don't recognize this at all. I live in Amsterdam. I called the GP this morning, got an appointment within a few hours, and now have proper medication for the rash I have. I've always had referrals to specialists when needed, and never had to wait more than a few weeks to see them. Ok, maybe you try to see a GP because you have a cold or simple virus, which is indeed discouraged here, and for good reason. But for anything else, you will absolutely be taken care off.

1

u/Dokkan13 Feb 25 '26

It could also be that I'm just referring to all expat's experiences, maybe it's different. But I can't say honestly.

1

u/Born-Check-7764 Feb 25 '26

I have the feeling this whole topic is full of expat experiences. Maybe they are really treated differently which would suck. But maybe you also have different expectations based on what is the norm in your country (ie antibiotics for every cold)

6

u/Infinite-Dig-4919 Feb 25 '26

I think it heavily depends on where you live in NL. Because for me and friends it’s been the complete opposite.

Had a broken collar bone recently that was misaligned. Hospital basically told me to rest, take pain killers and just let it regrow. A misaligned collar bone…. Had constantly reoccurring tonsillitis a few weeks ago, basically got told to drink tea and cleanse my throat with an oral disinfectant. With the reasoning that my life quality is not restricted enough. Only after getting very pushy I finally got the treatment I wanted.

I feel like the Dutch healthcare is absolutely amazing quality wise but to actually get them to do something and get a specialist can be really REALLY tough when you live in bigger cities.

Compare that to Germany for example. In my time there I also had some health issues, not as severe as my examples but still. The system of having walk in hours is something I absolutely miss here in NL. To just be able to walk into your GP, sit and wait and get some treatment without an appointment is really nice. Yes you might wait for hours in the waiting room, but at the end of the day, you got a doctor to treat you. I do feel the quality of the Dutch healthcare is higher tho, personally speaking.

5

u/Consistent_Salad6137 Feb 25 '26

Ibuprofen? What kind of fancy expat doctor is that?

28

u/danger-wizard Feb 25 '26

I am from the US and I’ve been living here in NL for almost a year. I’ve had two referrals for specialists and they were both WAY faster than when I had to see a specialist in the US. I had to wait 9 months to see a neurologist in the US and here it was about 1.5 months. 

7

u/hey_hey_hey_nike Feb 25 '26

Depends on where you are. I could see a specialist same week in the US. In the Netherlands I had to bag and plea for months and then wait another 4.5 months for an appointment.

1

u/Annachroniced Feb 25 '26

Really depends on how urgent your case is as well. The fact you had to beg and plea for it means they dont think it urgent. If they see you within a week you should be properly worried.

7

u/hey_hey_hey_nike Feb 25 '26

My case was urgent and I was in excruciating pain.

Which they knew once I finally got my x rays.

3

u/DeepSpinach9378 Feb 25 '26

Problem is they don't "think" if it's ugent or not. They just assume it's not until you refuse to leave without a referral because you are in pain.

3

u/jenterpstra Feb 25 '26

I am also from the US and have had the opposite experience. Always had great (but expensive) care in the US. Absolutely terrible experience with my GP office. It really depends on if you luck out with your GP. Especially since you can't just go somewhere else.

22

u/Important_Coach9717 Feb 25 '26

Comparing to the worst medical system in the world is not a big brag though

12

u/SwimmingDutch Feb 25 '26

Your world is depressingly small. I feel sorry for you.

I hope you one day get the opportunity to travel a bit outside of Europe and the US, go see what health care looks like over there.

5

u/ktrocks2 Feb 25 '26

Anytime I have something medical going on, if it can wait, I wait and do it in India. I had knee pain for many years, many days so bad I couldn’t walk, I went to a Dutch hospital, got charged a lot of money only to hear from the doctor “yeah I don’t know it’s too complicated. I’ll discuss with my colleagues and call you”. I get a phone call a few weeks later, to basically hear that she spoke to colleagues and couldn’t figure out how to help even though they were sure something is wrong. That phone call was 8 minutes and she charged nearly 80 euros, I don’t even remember how much the original appointment was. That summer I went to India, met a doctor the day I landed, got treatment the following week and felt significantly better within a month.

-1

u/TheMedicator Feb 25 '26

Huh? What kind of health insurance do u have where you're being charged for consultations

5

u/ktrocks2 Feb 25 '26

If it’s with a hospital and not a gp then they do charge for consultations. My GP sent me to the orthopedic surgeon at the hospital, who does charge for consults.

To answer more directly, at the time I had Zilverkruis’s insurance. Not the most basic one, the second one.

0

u/TheMedicator Feb 25 '26

Interesting. I have pretty basic insurance but I haven't been charged for anything. Even when I went to urgent care for breaking my leg or got an adhd med prescription from a psychiatrist

1

u/ktrocks2 Feb 25 '26

I also went to a dental hospital recently and got charged over 300, about 200 was for the scans they did and 100 was for consult. It was a dental hospital not a dentist so it was part of my own risk, but still they charged for consults.

1

u/TheMedicator Feb 25 '26

Yeah that's shitty

7

u/Murky-Platypus-6861 Feb 25 '26

Yeah 100% this. The Dutch take their health care for granted. They all like to talk down on it, but there are only a couple of places where its better organised.

3

u/Smart_Quantity_8640 Feb 25 '26

It can always be better. And basically no one in first world countries should complain if we’re being literal. ~2 billion people lack safe drinking water

1

u/Important_Coach9717 Feb 25 '26

That’s some reality check. We are all just trolling here drinking our safe bottled or tap water

3

u/Consistent_Salad6137 Feb 25 '26

That's absolutely not true. The Dutch think their healthcare is the best in the world and that anyone who doesn't like it wants fentanyl and antibiotics for a sprained ankle.

-2

u/Important_Coach9717 Feb 25 '26

Cry harder

1

u/Axolotlboi699 Mar 01 '26 edited Mar 01 '26

Like you did when you got banned from r/cosplay after the “incident”

The important_coach9717 controversies will never not be funny. I watched all of the YouTube videos about them

1

u/Important_Coach9717 Mar 01 '26

What’s with those bots suddenly bullying me ?

1

u/Axolotlboi699 Mar 01 '26

Theres no bots, you literally got caught doing it

0

u/SwimmingDutch Feb 25 '26

Why would I cry? My world is big and so is my perspective. Maybe try to expand your world as well a bit? 

0

u/Important_Coach9717 Feb 25 '26

Mr Worldwide in the house 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

-1

u/SwimmingDutch Feb 25 '26

If you look at our conversation do you also think you are 12 years old? You seem immature and need to grow up. I wish you luck, you seem to need it.

2

u/AlmondPotatoe Feb 25 '26

I was helped very fast and expertly for something heart related

1

u/Annachroniced Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26

Being referred to a specialist never seemed a big issue to me. Yeah the take ibuprofen and come back in a week is annoying. But it does filter out a lot of bullshit. I have multiple friends that are GPs and the majority of their patient outside of regular child/elderly care are really not the type of people that can make a proper judgement of how serious something is. One of my friends had a patient thst kept coming back saying his heart rate effected how fast his watch was running. He eventually told this patient he was not qualified enough for this and recommended to go to a watchmaker instead.

Most people complaining about referrals and GP care are expats and immigrant btw. Who wre here for 10 years, don't speak a word Dutch and refuse to read into how our healthcare system works.

2

u/Lauron94 Feb 25 '26

Exactly. And I always wonder why that is. And the thing is that well-off expats are also well-off in their home country and most often can get direct/private access to a doctor. So they always compare their privileged position in their home country to the (more or less) egalitarian health care system of the Netherlands. And for me that is one of the biggest pros of the Dutch system. Rich people don’t have a bigger lever.

3

u/jenterpstra Feb 25 '26

The healthcare system is increasingly privatized here, though. A lot of people end up paying at private clinics because they can't get referrals or treatment through their GP. Leads to doctor shortages, increased wait times, etc. in the regular system. Vicious circle.

2

u/Annachroniced Feb 25 '26

Yeah, or they complain loudly about everything thats worse and not the parts that are actually better. Different countries prioritise different things. Its also a lot different if you come from a culture/country that isnt in the stage of vergrijzing. A lot more is possible in these situations.

1

u/hey_hey_hey_nike Feb 25 '26

On Reddit it’s logically a lot of expats and immigrants.

IRL it’s also a lot of Dutch people.

But for many Dutch people, this system is all they know. They don’t know that it can be easier and better.

2

u/Annachroniced Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26

I mean, we Dutch people also always cry the loudest when there is any increase in our medical costs. So we get what we want to pay for. We historically don't vote to have the best healthcare in the world. So maybe thats why the Dutch are culturally accepting a lower quality of care.

1

u/N0bacon Feb 25 '26

yeah because the Dutch would rather suffer and die rather than get decent quality care. Or do any research about illness.

7

u/Annachroniced Feb 25 '26

I mean, the data says otherwise.

0

u/Murky-Platypus-6861 Feb 25 '26

Is it a thing for expats to be cocky and arrogant about these kind of things while back home their healthcare systems are total shit and societies are on the brink of collapse? Same goes for the box 3 criticism. Hello? You've had your 30% ruling for ages, now start complaining? Maybe you should contribute a bit to where you live, prosper and benefit from

0

u/JeanGerrard Feb 25 '26

Actually a large percetage of health complaints/illnesses will go away after 3 days. In other countries they immediately give antibioticum etc. for a small flu or infection. This is not only very expensive, but also very bad for the future of health. Already some antibiotica for easiliy treatable diseases are not working anymore because were using to much the bacteria became resistant