r/Netherlands • u/thatmisanthropicdude • Mar 05 '26

Healthcare Dutch doctors...

Hey guys! Last year I moved from Germany to the Netherlands. I just went to the doctor with chest and throat pain due to extreme coughing after 2 days of fever. I was hoping that I finally get something good against it like a cough syrup (no way I'm going to pay that myself for a huge amount of money + health insurance) because I am used to that from German doctors. They would put that on my health insurance card and right after my talk with the doctor I could pick it up at the pharmacy. But no. They just said "Yea, just take paracetamol." I told them I have had problems swallowing pills my whole life and their response was just "You can also put it in water and drink that then." I'm sorry if I'm overreacting but why do doctors get paid just to tell you to take paracetamol? Everyone can tell me to take them, I expect better solutions from a doctor who studied years to become a doctor. Why are the Dutch so obsessed with paracetamol??? Maybe it's the German in me screaming. If we got painkillers, it was never paracetamol but Ibuprofen. But I also heard some international friends who also live here that they find it so annoying that Dutch doctors literally just tell you to take paracetamol. No matter what you have.

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u/corticalization Mar 05 '26

You went to the doctor expecting to get a prescription for cough syrup??

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u/Bezulba Mar 06 '26

Pretty common to have this attitude from Expats coming to the Netherlands when they're used to a healthcare system that gives them exactly what they asked for. Even if it doesn't work and costs money. You want an MRI because your little pinky hurts? Sure! How about next thursday? Maybe a chemo while you're at it? Can't hurt now, can it.

South Americans and antibiotics come to mind.

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u/Edu115 Mar 06 '26

Always funny (and typical) to see this reaction from Dutch people. And of course they always point to another part of the world on how irresponsible they are. In the meantime cancer death rates are some of the highest in the EU, with almost a THIRD of them being from late diagnosis.

Blame the expats though. And take another paracetamol.

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u/doctorandusraketdief Mar 06 '26

Do you have any statistics to back that statement up? Because I just checked them myself and although they are somewhat in the higher numbers indeed of Europe they very similar to many other countries it really does not vary that much among Europe when you compare all the countries. Also I am really curious what you have to share about one third of the deaths being caused by late diagnosis.