If you call the GP’s office to make an appointment, the GP’s assistant, will ask questions in order to:
- determine the urgency of your situation (and, in some cases, check if more immediate action is required)
- to check whom you would need to see (a GP or a practice assistant)
- have the patient and the doctor be better prepared,
- to suggest alternatives, like a consultation by phone.
The GP’s assistant is a medical professional and has an obligation of confidentiality.
GPs may have walk-in hours in the morning, where, patients are seen on a first-come, first-serve basis. It is also possible to schedule a specific date and time.
Home visits are reserved for urgent cases and people incapable of visiting the GP’s office.
A consult with a GP is generally limited to 10 minutes and tends to take place during regular office hours. If you think that you need more time with the doctor, because you have more than one complaint, you can discuss this with the doctor’s assistant. In that case (s)he will schedule an 20-minute appointment.
If you have Dutch health insurance you will not incur any charge for the consultation.