Health and healthcare: GP, insurance, emergencies

Know who to contact for which health problem and how health insurance works.

A2 and B110 minLesson 5 of 9

After this lesson you can

Explain the huisarts as the first point of contact
Know that zorgverzekering is compulsory and what eigen risico means
Choose between huisarts, huisartsenpost and 112
Know the role of the apotheek and the consultatiebureau

The huisarts: your first stop

In the Netherlands you register with a huisarts (GP) near your home. The huisarts is the gatekeeper of the healthcare system:

For almost every health problem you first go to the huisarts.
You make an appointment by phone or online. The doktersassistente (practice assistant) answers the phone and asks questions to decide how urgent it is.
If you need a specialist or hospital, the huisarts gives you a verwijzing (referral). Without a referral, your insurance often does not pay for the specialist.
The huisarts may first advise rest, paracetamol or waiting a few days. That is normal Dutch practice, not a lack of care.

Health insurance (zorgverzekering)

Fact	Detail
Compulsory?	Yes, for everyone who lives or works in the Netherlands (from 18)
Deadline	Take out insurance within about four months of becoming obliged; later you can be fined and must pay back premium
Basisverzekering	Basic package, the same content at every insurer, set by the government
Aanvullende verzekering	Optional extra, e.g. for adult dental care or physiotherapy
Children under 18	Insured for free through a parent's policy
Eigen risico	A yearly amount you pay yourself first for some care, from age 18
Zorgtoeslag	Monthly allowance from the Belastingdienst if your income is low

Eigen risico does not apply to visits to the huisarts. It does apply to things like hospital care, many medicines and lab tests. The amount is set by the government each year; check the current figure on rijksoverheid.nl or with your insurer.

Adult dental care is mostly not in the basic package. Dental care for children under 18 is largely covered.

Medicines: the apotheek

With a recept (prescription) from the doctor, you get your medicines at the apotheek (pharmacy). Simple medicines such as paracetamol you can buy without a prescription at a drugstore (drogist). At night and at weekends there is a duty pharmacy (dienstapotheek).

Evenings, nights and weekends

How urgent?	What to do
Not urgent, can wait	Call your huisarts during office hours
Urgent, cannot wait until the huisarts opens	Call the huisartsenpost first (do not just walk in)
Life in danger (unconscious, severe bleeding, heart attack, serious accident)	112
Mental health crisis	Huisarts or huisartsenpost; in acute danger 112

Going directly to the emergency room (spoedeisende hulp) without a referral or ambulance is usually not the right step and may cost you money.

Pregnancy and young children

During pregnancy you usually go to a verloskundige (midwife), not to a gynaecologist, unless there are risks. Many births take place in hospital, but home births are also possible.
After birth, a kraamverzorgende (maternity nurse) helps at home for the first days.
The consultatiebureau (part of the youth healthcare, often via the GGD/JGZ) checks your baby's growth and development and gives the vaccinations of the national vaccination programme. It is free. Vaccination is not compulsory, but strongly advised.

Other care

Tandarts (dentist): register yourself; go twice a year for a check-up.
GGD: public health service: vaccinations, infectious diseases, youth healthcare.
Wmo support (help at home, aids) for people who need it: via the gemeente.

Exam logic

Ill → huisarts first, by appointment. Urgent at night → huisartsenpost. Danger to life → 112. Medicines → apotheek. Baby → consultatiebureau.

Useful Dutch

de huisartsthe GP / family doctor
de doktersassistentethe GP's practice assistant
de verwijzingthe referral
het receptthe prescription
de apotheekthe pharmacy
de huisartsenpostthe out-of-hours GP service
de zorgverzekeringhealth insurance
het eigen risicothe yearly deductible
de zorgtoeslaghealthcare allowance
de verloskundigethe midwife
het consultatiebureauthe baby and toddler clinic
spoedurgency, emergency

Worked example

A child with a high fever on Saturday night

*Het is zaterdagavond. Het zoontje van Aisha heeft hoge koorts en hij drinkt bijna niets. Aisha maakt zich zorgen. De huisarts is gesloten.* **Wie belt Aisha?** A. De huisartsenpost B. De apotheek C. Het consultatiebureau

Who? A parent with a sick child. What? It is urgent (high fever, not drinking), but not clearly life-threatening. When? Saturday evening: the huisarts is closed. The out-of-hours service for urgent problems is the huisartsenpost, and you call first. So A is correct. B is wrong: the pharmacy gives medicines, it does not examine patients. C is wrong: the consultatiebureau does check-ups and vaccinations during office hours, not urgent care. If the child became unconscious or had serious trouble breathing, Aisha would call 112.

Common mistakes

Going straight to the hospital or a specialist without first contacting the huisarts.
Thinking health insurance is optional; it is compulsory and you can be fined.
Believing eigen risico applies to GP visits; it does not.
Calling 112 for problems that are urgent but not life-threatening, instead of the huisartsenpost.

Check yourself

Answer all three to mark this lesson as done.

1. Johan heeft al twee weken pijn in zijn knie. Hij wil naar een specialist in het ziekenhuis. Wat moet Johan eerst doen?

2. Mohamed woont sinds kort in Nederland. Hij moet een zorgverzekering nemen, maar hij heeft een laag inkomen. Wat kan hij aanvragen?

3. Linda heeft een baby van twee maanden. De baby moet gewogen worden en een vaccinatie krijgen. Waar gaat Linda naartoe?