(If you have not done so, please read my Dutch healthcare overview post first)
I've mentioned in a previous blog post about doctors refusing patients because of where the patient lived with respect to the doctor's office. Well... we have experienced it first hand.
Me... I'm planning on boarding the first plane back to the US if anything major happens to me. For whatever reason, I do not trust these doctors to actually take care of me in the manner to which I have become accustomed. Hubs, however, wants to find a huisarts (general practitioner, literally "house doctor"). So, he went to a doctor's office close to his work. Hubs works approximately 5km (3.1 miles) from out apartment, not some great distance away. And this doctor's office was close to the local hospital.
Hubs comes home from stopping by this doctor's office with an application form. And he said the receptionist told him he could "apply" as a patient but warned him that we live outside the "house visit" perimeter (I'm paraphrasing here). I was floored that doctors actually make housecalls here. I mean, how hard can it be to "prescribe" paracetamol over the phone? 😉
Now, hubs will defend the person with whom he spoke as not having a great grasp of English (WHAT?!?! Not everyone speaks fluent English here? That just can't be!!! < snark >) but it sounded like she had a good enough grasp, and he did come home with an application form. So, I'm thinking she was able to explain it pretty accurately.
Yes, it is true, in the US a doctor's office can reject a patient if (among other reasons) the doctor's office is not accepting new patients, or is not in the patient's health insurance network. But I don't think I've ever heard of a doctor refusing to take on a new patient because of where the patient lived.
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