Beginning September 2018 a new platform will be launched by the network Healthcare for Internationals (H4i). The main aim is to inform internationals in the Netherlands on all aspects of healthcare.
On this online platform you will be able to find information and news in English, on different Dutch healthcare subjects. From giving birth in the Netherlands to mental health care, from preventive health care to healthcare insurance. On a wider scale, articles on nutrition and how to stay fit and healthy will be addressed too. This is a long-awaited site where all information is in one place and publicly accessible. Readers can give feedback and suggestions to improve the information and in the end to improve the healthcare provided in the Netherlands.
Interactive
Apart from informing the non-Dutch audience, it also has the objective to engage internationals in the topic of ‘healthcare in the Netherlands’. This reciprocal effect attunes to the main goal of the Healthcare for Internationals Network, which is “adjusting Dutch healthcare better to the needs of internationals“.
“Basically the Healthcare for Internationals platform is based
on the importance of the international.”
Internationals will have an important voice. They will assess whether the information is clear and will provide an answer to the questions that are present. They are invited to participate in panels (offline and online) to support the platform and health care providers in adapting their services to the needs of the target group.
Added value of this platform will be that like-minded people also can get in touch with each other on the topics of interest, a helping-each-other movement will occur.
Why this platform?
“Internationals do not feel at home in Dutch healthcare”
Recent research (April 2018) by the International Community Advisory Panel, also showed that there is confusion among internationals about Dutch healthcare. Only 33.5% of them feel (reasonably) well informed about the Dutch health insurance system; more than 60% do not say or are not sufficiently informed about Dutch healthcare.
Further research among internationals (H4i-SGE-2018) showed that there is also a gap between the information that internationals say they need about healthcare and what is actually accessible to them. This concerns a broad spectrum of topics, such as how Dutch healthcare works, health insurance, healthcare providers and information about how to stay healthy.
The platform is aimed at closing this gap. It will provide dynamic information about:
- The Dutch healthcare system
- Health insurance
- Providers of healthcare
- Healthcare, health and well being
- Prevention and promotion of physical and mental health
850.000 expats in the Netherlands
There are more than 850,000 internationals in the Netherlands, people with an international background who don’t speak well enough Dutch (yet) to find what they need in the Dutch language. These are knowledge workers, labor migrants, self-employed, students or status holders, often with their families. They have an important influence on the economic and social development of the Netherlands.
The necessary information is often not or only partly available in English, or difficult to find. English-language information and advice about illness and health from foreign sources often differ from what Dutch health care professionals recommend.
Initiator of the platform: Network Healthcare for internationals (H4i):
The healthcare providers in the Healthcare for internationals (H4i) network believe that everyone in the Netherlands should be able to feel safe with their doctor.
In 2016, these care providers set up a non-profit network (cooperative association). This network Healthcare for internationals (H4i) ensures that people with an international background feel at home in Dutch care, by closing the gap between their expectations and the care offered: “Closing the gap”.
The H4i network now has members and projects in 6 different regions. Read more here about H4i and its activities in the Netherlands.
Main picture by: Rawpixel
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