The Netherlands Patients’ Federation also agrees with the Integrated Care Agreement (IZA), as do the Dutch hospitals and university medical centers (umcs). “If we do nothing, healthcare will come to a complete standstill,” says Dianda Veldman, director of the federation. In the long run, patients will benefit from the agreement, she thinks, but ‘a lot depends on the final interpretation’. The federation wants to ‘be on top of that and think along about it’.
According to the Patient Federation, the new agreement gives GPs ‘more time for patients’. Also positive, according to the organization: healthcare providers who do not have a contract with a health insurer must now inform the patient of this before the start of a treatment and provide a quote. Veldman criticizes the fact that patients now ‘sometimes unintentionally end up with uncontracted care providers’.
The organization is also pleased with the patients’ better insight into their own medical data and with the possibilities of exchanging it with healthcare providers.
“The agreement is an important step towards stronger regional cooperation in the interest of patient care and prevention,” said Ad Melkert, chair of the Dutch Association of Hospitals (NVZ). The members of the club do warn about payment problems in the short term, because of the high inflation and the expectations surrounding the collective labor agreement discussions.
‘Doing nothing is not an option’
Interest group for patients in mental health care (GGZ) MIND previously announced that it would not sign the agreement. According to the organisation, a number of measures from the agreement, such as restricting the free choice of a practitioner, put ‘the rights of patients and citizens under pressure’.
According to the Dutch Federation of University Medical Centers (NFU), ‘doing nothing is not an option’: “The Netherlands is struggling with rising healthcare costs, increasing labor market tightness and more and more patients with multiple chronic conditions.” Moreover, says the NFU, difficult times are coming: “Inflation is huge, we are dealing with an energy crisis and the aftermath of a two-year pandemic is weighing on healthcare.”
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A lot needs to be done on prevention, says NFU. “Health is not only influenced by what you eat or how often you exercise, but also by air quality or poverty. That requires a government-wide policy that promotes health.” The organization does have doubts about the feasibility of the agreement with the current resources.
The Integral Care Agreement must be concluded before Budget Day. Organizations from the entire healthcare field participate in the discussion, including hospitals, general practitioners and nurses, the trade association of healthcare organizations ActiZ and Zorgverzekeraars Nederland.
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