Digital Queen Doctors in Amsterdam finally fail: 1 GP for every 13,500 patients

Quin Dokters had six branches in the city and wanted to be a GP with many “digital tools,” such as apps and video consultations. The start was in Amsterdam in January of this year. But Quinn says in a written response that the start was already shaky due to “practice problems” of acquired practices and a lack of general practitioners.

After a turbulent summer, there are only two Amsterdam operations left, according to Quin Dokters: one in Westermarkt and one in Oosterpark, which are temporarily closed. The company wants to move those branches in time. Quin Dokters will then leave patient care and focus entirely on the further development of digital solutions in general practice, he informed GPs in Amsterdam in a thank you email on Monday.

Before that, Quin Dokters will reduce the patient base to 6,300 people. The company has now been able to attract enough general practitioners and observers to be able to properly handle this, according to Quinn and health insurer Zilveren Kruis, who signed the letter.

protection

The case leads to questions. This Thursday, SP will ask questions to Alderman for Care Simone Kukenheim. According to SP board member Tiers Bakker, Amsterdam residents should be protected from “trade clubs of this kind”. “Queen Doctors has been admitted, while healthcare is already under tremendous pressure and is very fragile. Then you see that if such a club does not get things done, other GPs, who are already under such great pressure, have to resolve the issue. They receive Now all these patients.”

Patients are the victims, according to Packer: “Especially vulnerable people, who don’t sound the alarm when something goes wrong, are victims of that. They will now get another doctor, for the third time.”

In July, Quin Dokters were already in trouble. The summer vacation had barely begun when the company could no longer complete schedules, could no longer handle the influx of patients and questions could not be reached, according to responses to ZorgkaartNederland.

dented image

Attempts to recruit observers have been unsuccessful. Many GPs in the city had already had a hard time finding them during the summer, but for Quin Dokters it was too complicated to find staff because of the dented image. This is evidenced by correspondence from umbrella organizations of general practitioners in which fellows are asked to take on patients from Quin Dokters.

The concept of a “digital doctor” is also a sensitive one. The danger of this kind of newcomer to GP care is that young, healthy patients who are on hand are tempted by technology by digital doctors, while the ‘normal’ GP is left with a relatively large number of patients and at-risk patients, So he has to do it. Work harder.

As of July 19, Quin Dokters threatened to become so understaffed that there was only one GP for 13,500 patients, supplemented by one GP for video consultations. The Post stated that Quin Dokters prefer sending patients to GP centers or the emergency room, while they are only there for emergencies.

emergency plan

The Amsterdam Alliance of General Practitioners (AHA) wanted to find a sustainable solution after the summer break, but decided to bail out early, because the situation was too dangerous to wait. AHa, Huisartsenposten Amsterdam, Huisartsenkring Amsterdam/Almere and health insurance company Zilveren Kruis forged a contingency plan with Quin.

Hastily, a call is made to the GPs to take over Quinn’s patients. The condition was that patients be offered a free choice of physician.

Zilveren Kruis is confident that Quin Dokters is currently employing enough general practitioners to be on hand for the remaining patients and to be able to provide them with quality care. According to a spokesperson for GPs in Amsterdam, the transfer of patients to other GPs went well and, as is known, without any mishaps.

Huge help

According to the head of Huisartsen Alliantie Amsterdam, Katinka Prins, it is great that GPs come to the rescue at busy times to receive patients. “They were very well prepared. This is very special.”

According to Prince, GPs had a very busy summer. Practices are understaffed, with many employees sick or in home quarantine. So the monitors had to be fully deployed. “Some work six days a week. There simply wasn’t enough.”