More attention to prevention could prevent a healthcare doomsday scenario in 2040

To avoid a doomsday scenario, politicians are calling to meet the growing demand by hiring more staff and deploying new technologies to allow people to take home measurements more frequently. Van Rossum says there is more to be done in the area of ​​prevention.

“For example, as a doctor I can prescribe all kinds of expensive medicines in a doctor’s office, but I know that in many diseases these medicines are less effective if people do not exercise, eat unhealthy food or smoke. And they are often unnecessarily expensive Because the dose often goes up. Body weight. If your lifestyle is a part of it, you can be more effective and achieve more health benefits.”

A special Erasmus MC lifestyle counter has been set up for this purpose, and this is happening in an increasing number of hospitals, van Rossum notes. “That can lead people to someone in the neighborhood, for example someone who helps with exercise or nutrition, but it can also be debt counseling if that’s the underlying cause.”

Epileptic fit

According to Daisy Pors, a GP in The Hague, prevention is important. Prevention is primarily the job of GGDs and the government. But sometimes GPs also play a role, for example by identifying potential health risks in a timely manner. “This signaling job is one of the best things in the profession. And I want to keep doing it well.”

This is becoming increasingly difficult, because GPs are increasingly busy, Boers notes. “A lot of things are well organized here. But even more measures and a desire to make them cheaper is not a good development. Politicians and health insurance companies focus mainly on short-term results, which you don’t have with prevention. For example, if you explain to someone who is old 20 years that you have to quit. You won’t see the results of these years until then, sometimes only 30 years later.”

More and more missions

Pors see more and more tasks being assigned to the GP. “A patient had a severe epileptic seizure last week and should have been hospitalized, but he was sent home and asked to do the tests and send the results to the hospital.”

As a result, more and more care is given to the GP. “The answer is everything, because the GP is doing it cheaper. But it’s not just one thing,” says Burse, “not just the growing demand for care, not just management.” It’s all together so it just doesn’t fit our agenda.”

What will it look like in 2040? “Good question. I definitely still want to work.”