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Country’s healthcare system in a nutshell
In the Netherlands, the health care healthcare system combines public funding with private insurance. Every resident must obtain statutory health insurance from private insurers, who are mandated to accept all applicants. The system is mainly funded through public sources, including premiums, taxes, and government grants. The national government sets health care healthcare priorities and oversees aspects of access, quality, and costs. Standard benefits encompass include hospital care, physician services, home nursing, mental health care, and prescription medications. Adults While adults are responsible for paying premiums, annual deductibles, and coinsurance or copayments for certain services and drugs, while the government covers health care healthcare costs for children up to the age of 18 years of age.
The national government is in charge of establishing health care tasked with establishing healthcare priorities, implementing legislative changes when as needed, and overseeing the market-based system's access, quality, and cost aspects.
Municipalities handle manage specific health services, such as preventive screenings and outpatient long-term care, while the Federal Ministry of Health takes on a regulatory role rather than managing health care healthcare directly.
Several independent bodies set operational priorities:
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Health information technology (IT) is not centralised. The Union of Providers for Health Care Communication manages the data exchange through IT infrastructure.
According to the most recent data from 2010, health insurance covered 98.9% of the population in the Netherlands. This coverage encompasses both those who are members of health insurance schemes and those who have free access to state-provided healthcare services (Our World in Data, n.p.).
Public vs private
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The national PHR
History
In 2011 there were the first discussions , initial discussions began in the country Netherlands about creating a national Electronic Patient File (EPD), which would have been the same standardise medical records for every patient in the Netherlands and would enable them to see access their medical data. This project received no However, this project failed to gain support from the Senate.
AfterwardIn response, the Dutch Patient Federation came up with another way to give people control over their medical data, i.e. introduced an alternative solution: MedMij and the personal health environment (PHE) (PGO.nl, 2023).
The MedMij foundation was established in 2015 by the Informatieberaad Zorg (Healthcare Information Council), a collaborative body comprising involving various stakeholders from the healthcare sector and the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport. This initiative, led by the Patiëntenfederatie Nederland (Dutch Patients Federation), aims to set standards for the secure exchange of health data in the Netherlands.
Currently, MedMij represents the benchmark for the secure transmission of health data between patients and healthcare providers. Organisations that meet the stringent criteria set by MedMij are authorised to use its label. This certification ensures that individuals can access their health data through a personal health environment (PHE) of their choosing. The MedMij label denotes adherence to the standards outlined in the MedMij Framework. It is awarded to apps, websites, or PHEs that meet these requirements and is also displayed at healthcare providers' locations that participate in the MedMij network. However, it is important to note that while the
While the MedMij label guarantees secure data exchange, it does not provide information on about the functionality or user-friendliness of these the certified tools. The suitability and effectiveness of an Patients are responsible for selecting the app or website for individual needs are determined by the users themselves, who can choose which one to use.that best suits their needs.
At the momentpresent, there are 13 PHEs that meet MedMij standards and that patients can choose from, offering patients a choice of platforms. An updated list is available at this link: https://medmij.nl/medmij-deelnemers/ here: MedMij Participants.
Investments
The Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport (VWS) has made significant investments in the digitalization of healthcare digitalisation in recent years. One of the key major initiatives is the Dutch Health Information Council, which oversees the National Health Information Exchange Infrastructure (VIPP) program. This program has received substantial funding aimed at enhancing to improve digital information exchange across healthcare providers to improve , enhancing patient care and efficiency (VIPPGGZ, n.d.).
The In total, the VWS has allocated hundreds of millions of euros towards around €900 million to various digital health initiatives. The total was €900mln. The VIPP program itself received an initial investment of 400 million euros, targeting improvements in was initially funded with €400 million, aimed at upgrading hospital information systems, improving patient access to their medical records, and facilitating inter-organizational organisational data exchangeexchange. For Of this, hospitals (VIPP 1) € 105 mln. For GP's € 75 mln. received €105 million, while GPs were allocated €75 million.
Additionally, the government has set aside €75mln for AI €75 million has been earmarked for artificial intelligence in healthcare and digital innovation, focusing on areas such as telehealth, digital diagnostics, and personalized medicinepersonalised medicine. These investments are part of a broader strategy to modernize modernise the healthcare system, making it more resilient and efficient by leveraging through technology.
Overall, the VWS's efforts reflect a growing strong commitment to integrating digital solutions within the healthcare sector, aiming at higher to improve efficiency and support population health management.
(PKB interviews)
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VIPPGGZ, n.d. Regulation. The State Secretary of Health, Welfare and Sport. Available at: https://www-vippggz-nl.translate.goog/regeling.html?_x_tr_sl=nl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc (Accessed 3 Sep. 2024).