Digital healthcare in the Netherlands

Key figures

17,44 M

inhabitants

10.13% of GDP

health expenses

12

provinces act as liaison between the state and municipalities

.

Three systems for universal coverage

  1. The Dutch healthcare system is mainly covered by a social insurance system made up of 11 health insurance funds. The state makes basic health insurance compulsory for all citizens and defines a set of benefits that these funds must provide to citizens. Four health insurance funds cover the majority of Dutch residents: Zilveren Kruis (Achmea), VGZ, CZ en Menzis. They are represented by the Zorgverzekeraars Nederland (ZN) association.
  2. The 11 insurance funds that provide compulsory basic insurance also offer supplementary insurance to cover care excluded from basic insurance, such as dental care and physiotherapy.
  3. Long-term care accounts for 10.8% of the Dutch healthcare budget in 2021 as one of the government's priorities is to ensure that the elderly can receive care at home. Most of this care is state-funded. Social benefits are also paid for by taxes and organized by municipalities.

Meeting the ambassadors

Esther Hogenhout, Innovation, Science and Technology Counsellor at the Dutch Embassy in France

How do I set up in the Netherlands?

1. The Dutch government's Zorgvoorinnoveren page for healthcare innovators

Zorgooninnoveren is a one-stop shop that informs, advises and connects healthcare entrepreneurs and innovators to the healthcare ecosystem. Zorgooninnoveren facilitates interactions between entrepreneurs and all the players in the ecosystem. A contact form is also available on their site for personalized support.
The funding page on their site also lists funding that healthcare innovators can take advantage of in the Netherlands. It concentrates all the opportunities on offer in one place, including those from the Dutch Enterprise Agency and ZonMw.

2. Health Holland's website for more opportunities

Alongside the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Economy and Climate is responsible for stimulating innovation in the Netherlands. To this end, it defines priorities named "Top Sectors". Health Holland is the government organization responsible for mobilizing the life sciences and healthcare ecosystem. To this end, Health Holland organizes meetings, facilitates public-private cooperation, offers a coaching service for start-ups and lists financing opportunities for innovative companies.

3. The NeLL cluster to join

The NeLL cluster is the national laboratory for digital health. It offers a digital platform and provides physical space for players in the digital health ecosystem in the Netherlands. Any player can join NeLL and find a first point of contact to integrate the Dutch market.

4. Innovation hubs to join

5. The Zorginstituut Nederlando where healthcare innovations can be verified

The Zorginstituut Nederland ensures that all care reimbursed by the Dutch state complies with Dutch safety and quality standards.

6. The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport decides on reimbursement.

The Dutch Ministry of Health defines which healthcare solutions are reimbursed in the Netherlands. The Ministry makes its decision on the basis of advice from the Zorginstituut, but is independent in its decision-making. The Ministry decides on the acceptance and respective rates of all health services and care to be reimbursed by the health insurance funds.

7. Promote digital health innovation

The site Zorg van Nu is available for patients and healthcare professionals. In particular, the site helps to bring visibility to its digital healthcare solution.

Government authorities and platforms

In charge of health product evaluation and legislation

The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport: defines the basket of reimbursed health care Health Holland: health innovation cluster of the Ministry of Economy The 14 Regional Support Structures (ROS) in the Netherlands: providing and facilitating access to care at local level The Zorginstituut Nederland: the health institution verifies the safety and compliance of health solutions entering the Dutch market The Danish Health Authority (NZa): the authority responsible for the proper administration of the Danish health system. It supervises the health insurance funds and supports the new players in the Dutch market Zonmw: the national organisation coordinating funding for health research

The associations

They bring companies together and facilitate their incubation

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Zorgverzekeraars Nederland (ZN): the association of Dutch health insurance companies responsible for the organisation of the Dutch health care system Zorgvoorinnoveren: Dutch equivalent of G_NIUS The Netherlands Enterprise Agency The guide Invest in Holland

Support and innovation initiatives

They bring together and facilitate the incubation of new technologies

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NeLL: the Dutch digital health ecosystem cluster Incubator for technology start-ups Medscaler: accelerator for entrepreneurs offering new health solutions Health Innovation Netherlands (HI-NL): the medical devices cluster Zorg van Nu: raises awareness of digital health and provides visibility on new innovations The Technical Medical Centre of the University of Twente Smart Health Amsterdam Eindhoven MedTech Innovation Center Leiden Bio Science Park

Training

Universities and their groups that train and support digital healthcare innovations

Erasmus University Rotterdam : This university has developed the multi-disciplinary "Smarter Choices for Better Health" initiative, which supports the development and financing of innovative solutions for healthcare efficiency University of Maastricht : This university has developed the Data Science @ UM program for research, training and networking in the data science ecosystem, with a particular focus on healthcare University of Amsterdam : This university conducts interdisciplinary research programs on the social issues of data and artificial intelligence in healthcare decision-making The Hague University for Applied Sciences : This university has set up a Center of Expertise for Healthcare Innovation to incubate and support the development of new healthcare technologies University of Leiden: The Department of Medicine of this university has placed digital health at the heart of its research, the University Medical Center and the Leiden Bio Science Park, and is developing a strong international cooperation for research