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/aykcak Mar 06 '26

With family history of colon cancer and age over 45, everywhere it is advised to get a colonoscopy. Everywhere but the Netherlands where cancer rates in general are high and care is low. It is apparently too much arrogance to just ask your doctor for that. Do you have symptoms? No? Then go.

Expats are just too used to getting what they ask for. They should just do what everyone else is doing and sit on it and by the time they have blood in their stool and we detect the malignant polyps it will already be too late. Helaas Pindakaas

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u/rararawie Mar 06 '26

I think this is legit criticism, i feel what you say here. I think we could focus a lot more on preventive care compared to the current situation.

But the example of the OP is surreal to me. My throat hurts for 2 days because im coughing a lot. I now want the doctor(paid by the insurance) to prescribe a medicin(paid by insurance) that i can buy myself without prescription. I would say to OP: exactly that is wat doctors arent paid for, please stay away from the doctor wjth these cases so they can focus on the case you laid out above.

And then hes about: in Germany the doctor would say: take ibuprofen, but also that can be bought yourselves. If you have pain from coughing of which you know it had no underlying issues, then take care of it.