Dutch Healthcare part 1 - you haven't been sick long enough

(If you have not done so, please read my Dutch healthcare overview post first)


Many non-Dutchies have mentioned that unless you've been sick for at least a week, the GP** will basically refuse to look at you. This has been confirmed by my husband when he thought he might have strep. He went to the doctor's office and told them his throat had been bothering him for a few days so they said to wait and come back if it was still an issue after a week.

My husband mentioned to the doctor that in the US there is a test to determine if it is strep (if strep, antibiotics would be warranted, right?), and the doctor simply said "we don't do that here".  Nice.

The joke among the expat community is that the doctor will simply prescribe paracetamol (basically, Tylenol). There was even a Dutch ad on TV where the doctor prescribed a good home-cooked meal for his sick patient (granted, it was grocery store ad, but it did feed into my bias against NL doctors). Bias or not, the basic message is "suck it up".

They seem to be so afraid of antibiotic resistant diseases that they'd rather their patient develop scarlet fever. This is diametrically opposed to Thailand where antibiotics are available OTC and they actually have a problem with antibiotic resistant diseases. And they also seem to be afraid to run tests... this I can only assume is simple economics.

Speaking of economics... I think the whole "antibiotic resistance fear" is actually a cover for limiting treatment, thus lowering costs. Then again, NL doctors could just think that Americans are hypochondriacs and are treated as such because many stories about how an American was unable to get the care they needed include "until I took my Dutch friend with me". But then why not do the test to confirm or deny strep? Is that yet another weird way to lower costs? "You didn't develop scarlet fever after all so we saved a bit on not prescribing antibiotics, whether or not you actually could've benefited from them. WOO HOO!"

I've heard other stories of people almost dying because their huisarts didn't take them seriously. Note the use of "stories", not a single occurrence.

So, before you come to NL make sure you are a very healthy person and up on all your shots. 😉

GP** -- Here in NL you cannot see a specialist unless you have a referral from a GP or "huisarts". In essence, the Dutch healthcare system is run like an HMO.