Abstract

In late 2022, 14 parties signed the Comprehensive Care Agreement (IZA) with the aim to keep care effective, accessible and affordable. They agreed, among other things, to offer more care and support digitally whenever possible. For example, people can track their own health with a sensor or app, such as their blood pressure or blood sugar level, and share the information with their care provider. This combination of digital and physical care is called hybrid care.

The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) will follow the development of hybrid care until 2027. The first measurements indicate that appointments are still mostly in person. However, care providers and patients are using digital care more often. This could include the option to communicate digitally in writing with a care provider, such as asking them a question through the care portal. This lowers the barrier and makes it easier to communicate with care providers.

According to care providers and users, support processes such as planning appointments, referring patients and providing information are most suited to digitalisation. There are still opportunities to digitalise more care. According to physicians, 80% of referrals could be carried out digitally. According to a large number of care providers, digital care helps to reduce the workload and contributes to greater job satisfaction.

It is important to make digital care accessible to more people. Noticeably, elderly people, people who have only completed primary or prevocational secondary education and people with a lower income are often less likely to use digital care. They are often less skilled in the use of digital tools. In order to improve the ability of these users to use digital tools, it is important to involve them in the development of new forms of care. This is particularly important because the number of elderly people will continue to increase in the coming years, and care must be accessible to them.