Looking for a doctor or general practitioner (huisarts) in Den Bosch?

If you have a medical emergency please call 112, the national emergency number where you can reach an ambulance, police or fire department.

If you don’t have a medical emergency but would like to see a regular doctor the dutch healthcare system is based on a 1st and 2nd line healthcare system. Your first point of contact will be a general practitioner the so called ‘huisarts’ and in case a specialist is needed you will be referred to the hospital or another healthcare provider by the general practitioner. It’s not possible to go directly to a specialist, you will be asked for a referral from the general practitioner.

How do I register with a general practitioner (GP) or huisarts practice in Den Bosch?

It may seem obvious but if you’re not fluent in Dutch find a practice who employ English speaking doctors and assistents. English is usually well spoken, but it’s worth double checking. Not all practices are open for new patients, some have reached the limits of their capacity and in order to provide high quality healthcare they limit the number of patients in the practice. In case of an emergency doctors need to be able to visit you within 15 minutes, that’s why it’s important to find a practice within that range, practices will usually not let you register if you live outside their work area.

Should you want to register at our practice you can request registration by filling in the online registration request form.

How much does a visit to the general practitioner (gp) or huisarts cost?

If you have a Dutch health insurance a visit to the huisarts is free. This is done to promote going to the doctor early and hopefully avoid having to undergo more severe (and costly) treatments. This is only true for healthcare provided at the huisarts practice! Other types of care usually come with own contributions so check what treatments your practice offers. Some healthcare can both be provided by the huisarts or by others (eg IUD implants, Point-of-Care tests) and while it’s free at the huisarts, it might be costly somewhere else. For that reason, try to find a general practitioner practice which offers a broad range of healthcare services.

If you have an expat insurance or no insurance at all the practice will charge you a passersby rate and you’ll have to pay on site. The costs are relatively low, the rate for a visit up to 20 minutes is ~€30 and ~€60 for a visit longer than 20 minutes. Other treatments might be more costly (eg IUD implants), so make sure you get a quote before undergoing treatment.

Can I go to the hospital for specialized care I used to have in my country of origin

Usually yes, but only after a referral from a general practitioner (gp) or huisarts. Most specialized care in other countries will be specialized care in the Netherlands too, so it shouldn’t be hard to get a referral, but other types of treatments are done at the practice of the huisarts itself. Since healthcare provided by the huisarts is covered free of charge under the dutch health insurance and hospital care has an own contribution, getting treatment from a huisarts is more cost-effective.

Please note: certain types of treatments might be different in the Netherlands than in your country of origin and/or the view on needing treatments is different. In case you are expecting a certain type of treatment and are not sure if this is something the practice provides please contact the practice for more information.

Does the general practitioner (gp) or huisarts need a copy of my medical records?

Yes, if you can obtain a copy of your medical records the doctor will usually want a copy. The more the doctor knows about your medical history the better treatment you will get. If the medical records are not in Dutch or English and contain important medical information about your past illnesses or treatments please discuss with your doctor if (and if so which parts of) your medical records would benefit from a translation.

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How long do I need to wait for an appointment with the general practitioner (gp) or huisarts?

It depends on the severity of your illness. If you require urgent care which is or might become life threatening you will usually be seen the same day. For non-urgent care that can wait you can make an appointment and timing varies. Expect a couple of days for non-urgent care, but it helps to be flexible in timing. If you want a specific time it’s harder to accomodate that in the short term.

Please note that companies in the Netherlands have a legal obligation to allow visits to the doctor or hospital if you cannot reasonably get an appointment outside working hours. This also means that if the doctor advises you to come or return within a week that means you can do so during working hours. In Dutch this is called “calamiteitenverlof”.

What is the best time to call the practice?

Monday mornings and Friday afternoons are very busy coming out of and going into the weekend. The mornings are more busy than the afternoons, so in case you have a non-urgent question it’s advisable to call in the afternoon. Some practices have time slots where you can get the results of tests that you’ve had done. At our practice we don’t specify time slots but you can call anytime for results.

What is the National Exchange Point or Landelijk Schakel Punt (LSP)?

With the National Exchange Point (LSP) you can grant permission to other healthcare providers to request a summary of your medical records in case of emergency. This is very helpful for instance in case you visit the hospital after opening hours. The general practitioner (gp) or huisarts keeps a copy of your medical records but the hospital doesn’t automatically have access. By granting permission to the LSP to share your medical records in case of need, you will allow other healthcare providers to request a summary and in turn improve the healthcare that will be provided to you. We would recommend you to grant this access. For more information check the English version of volgjezorg.nl

Where can I read more about the general practitioner (gp) or huisarts?

The following website has a good article about general practitioner (gp) or huisarts : https://www.iamexpat.nl/expat-info/dutch-healthcare-system/general-practitioners-gp-doctors-netherlands

Request registration at our practice

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