Abstract

At the end of 2022, 14 parties signed the Integrated Care Agreement (IZA) to keep the healthcare system good, accessible, and affordable. Among other things, they agreed to offer more care and support digitally wherever possible. For example, care users can use a sensor or an app to monitor their own health, such as their blood pressure or glucose values, and share this information with their healthcare provider. The combination of physical and digital care is called hybrid care. The target for 2030 is that seventy percent of care suitable for digital delivery can be provided digitally. Another goal is for half of all people with a chronic illness to make use of it.

Every year, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) monitors how much care is provided and used in hybrid form. It studies this among care users and care providers (general practitioners, nurses, and medical specialists in hospitals). The second measurement shows that care providers already offer hybrid care in all care processes studied. Examples include giving digital advice to patients via video calls or through a patient portal. Nurses and medical specialists in particular have already reached the target of offering seventy percent of care processes digitally. The greatest potential for improvement lies with general practitioners. They could, for example, provide information in digital form more often, such as online brochures and questionnaires in order to assess how urgently someone needs care.

The use of digital care by care users has not yet hit the target and it varies by region and by user group. Older adults and people with only primary or lower secondary education use digital care less often. It is possible that many care users find it difficult to register or log in digitally. Care providers themselves also sometimes struggle with the many digital applications they have to deal with (including new ones). Support and explanations are therefore important.

Most care providers are neutral about the impact of digital tools on workload or healthcare costs. Like care users, however, they do see that digital communication and support improve the quality and accessibility of care. General practitioners and medical specialists view new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), in a positive light.

Although hybrid care is expanding in the Netherlands, not everyone is using it yet. It is important to pay attention to people who have difficulty with digital care and to help them where needed.