Healthcare in the Netherlands

Healthcare in the Netherlands is differentiated along three dimensions (1) level (2) physical versus mental and (3) short term versus long term care.

The three levels indicate how a patient is referred throughout the system. The first level is the level where people go to with health issues. This consists of mainly Huisartsen (U.S.: physicians / U.K.: general practitioners; lit.: home/family doctors), often organised in a"huisartsenposten" ((acute) GP/primary medical centers) to ensure 24/7 availability, and emergency rooms ("SpoedEisende Hulp / SEH") at hospitals. These first level caretakers can refer patient to specialised care, at hospital, extramural or long term care. Without such referral access to second level care public healthcare centers, and under most health insurance schemes is generally not possible. For specialised care patients can be referred to third level care - either by first level or second level practitioners. Third level care consists of highly specialised care such a nuclear treatment. Third level care is generally embedded in University Hospitals.^[1]

From 2012 to 2020, health care spending declined from 10.9 percent to 10.5 percent of GDP.^[2]