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Netherlands

 

Dutch primary groups to merge

By far the largest for-profit primary care group in the Netherlands is to be created. Dutch private equity investor NPM Healthcare is merging its Arts en Zorg chain with ZorgPunt, owned by insurer Menzis and private equity house Reggeborgh. The combined group will have 150,000 patients. So, how is primary care delivery set to change?

Psychiatry moves towards payment by results in the Netherlands

Dutch insurers like Menzis are pushing hard for the implementation of patient monitoring systems, threatening 5% tariff cuts if targets aren’t met. This is after a 10% cut - equal to €600 million - to the country’s psychiatry budget this year, potentially resulting in the loss of 9,000 jobs in the sector and reduced capacity to treat patients, according to the GGZ, which represents the providers in this entirely private market segment. The insurers are pushing for payment by results.

Interview: Jaap Dijkman, CEO, Medial-Atal

We talk to Jaap Dijkman, who will take over as CEO of Medial-Atal from October 2012. The newly-merged group is now the largest diagnostics laboratory in the Netherlands, with forecast 2012 sales of €60 million.

Dutch insurers face new competitor amid allegations that half of hospitals will close

The big four Dutch healthcare insurers will soon face a new competitor. The SAZ, which represents the 42 smallest Dutch hospitals, plans on launching the new insurance scheme by the end of the year. The head of the association, Binso Wymenga, alleges that the SAZ is doing this because the big insurers want to close down his members, who make up nearly half of the 91 general and academic hospitals in the Netherlands. We take a look at Mr. Wymenga’s claims, and what this new plan involves.

Netherlands moves to Mechanical Turk for homecare workers

The Netherlands is set to liberalise its health workforce, allowing self-employed carers and nurses to practice freely. The primary focus right now is on getting these independent healthcare workers into the homecare market: a €20 million fund has been established to be used by insurers to purchase their services. Patients will be free to identify and select qualified staff over the web, rather like Amazon's mechanical turk model. How will this affect incumbent homecare providers? How does the new system work? We investigate.

Irish outsourcing hopes fade

Hopes that Ireland may outsource €45m of family doctor (GP) diagnostic lab tests any time soon look wide of the mark, as the public sector responds and government reforms move towards a trust structure.

IMMAC plans British entry

Healthcare property fund IMMAC Capital with over €1bn under management in Germany and Austria, is scoping out potential deals in the UK, while mulling over entering the Dutch and Belgian markets. We spoke to Immac to find out their thoughts on the market.

FREE BLOG Could Dutch healthcare reform be derailed?

The past decade has seen consistent and measured healthcare reform change in only one West European country - the Netherlands. How far does the fall of the right wing government imperil Dutch healthcare reform and damage the consensus which has enabled a market-driven system to emerge?

European healthcare fund plans abandoned

British real estate investment firm MedicX has indefinitely postponed plans to create a first European fund. German-Dutch fund manager Euro Ejendomme has decided to abandon healthcare altogether. We talk to the companies to find out why - and whether this bodes poorly for the healthcare real estate market.

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