General information
Appointments
Appointments for patients are normally scheduled for 10 minutes. When making an appointment to be examined by a physician, indicate if you may need more time to explain your medical condition or discuss other health concerns. If you need to cancel an appointment, we request that you do this in a timely manner otherwise we will have to charge you for the appointment.
Test results by telephone
In the Netherlands, it is the patient’s responsibility to contact the practice to find out the results of urine or blood test, and for hospital test results. You can contact the office to arrange for a telephone consultation with the physician to discuss test results. The physician will contact patients by telephone to explain test results and to answer small questions that do not require an office visit. To arrange for a telephone consultation call 070 – 880 44 04.
Prescription medicines
In the Netherlands, it is the law that prescription medicines are prescribed by a general practitioner, and normally this takes place during a scheduled office appointment. Patients can renew prescriptions online with our new digital services (24 hours per day) or if they prefer, by telephone every weekday morning between 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. Prescription medicine, ordered before 12:00 pm on weekdays, will be ready at pharmacy of your choice after 3:00 pm on the same day. You can find the location of local pharmacies in Utrecht on our website.
Referrals
Patients in the Netherlands need a referral letter from a general practitioner in order to visit a medical specialist or receive a medical test at the hospital. It is necessary to bring this referral letter or ‘verwijsbrief’ to the hospital after making an appointment with a specialist. For some medical tests at the hospital, patients can simply walk-in without an appointment. All patients need to bring a referral letter, insurance card and a hospital card for appointments and tests at the hospital. Arrive early for your first appointment at the hospital and you can request for a hospital card to be made at the reception desk.
Home visits
If you are not able to visit one of our office locations then you can arrange for a home visit by telephone. Yet if it is possible for you to come to one of our practices, we prefer to examine patients at one of our medical centers where we have the ability to optimally treat and conduct examinations.
Travel vaccinations
Our practices offer travel vaccinations and advice about the official requirements for countries worldwide, including the vaccination for yellow fever. Patients first need to fill out a travel form or in Dutch, a ‘reizigersanamnese formulier’.We will then arrange for all the necessary vaccination requirements after the completed form is returned to one of our practices or sent to us by e-mail. One of our staff members will contact you to arrange for an appointment to receive the required vaccinations after evaluating the form and your specific travel needs. Patients can easily download the travel form online or pick up a form at one of our locations.
Medical certificates
According to the ethical code of behavior for physicians, established by the Royal Dutch Medical Association (KNMG), a general practitioner is not allowed to give medical information about their patients to third parties, like travel insurers, schools, gyms or for exemption from taking an exam due to illness. Insurance companies can request patient information, but only with written permission from the patient.
Patient information
International students can bring their personal medical records to the office after registering with the practice. When you leave the Netherlands, you can request to have a copy of your medical records. In order to provide the best care for our patients, it is important to always have the correct contact information.
Complaints
Despite our efforts to offer outstanding medical care for our patients, it may be the case that you are dissatisfied with one of our services. We will be glad to discuss your complaints and try to find a solution. We are continually trying to improve our practices and welcome suggestions from our patients on how to improve our services. We hope this brochure contains the basic information for our medical practice. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact us. We look forward to offering you the best medical care and services during your stay in the Netherlands.
