Huisartsen leggen steeds minder visites af bij ouderen

Objective

To analyse the number of GP home visits from 2017-2023 in The Netherlands, and to investigate whether this trend differed according to age, sex, multimorbidity, and neighbourhood deprivation.

Design

An observational study that used data derived from Nivel Primary Care Database, containing routinely recorded data from approximately 500 Dutch GP practices.

Method

The number of home visits was calculated by age, sex, multimorbidity, and neighbourhood deprivation.

Results

A 32% overall decrease in home visits was observed, with the sharpest decline in 2020. Short visits dropped by 52%, while visits for intensive GP care, often related to end-of-life situations, increased by 12%.

Conclusion

We report a continuing decline in the number of home visits by GPs, comparing 2023 with 2017. Home visits for intensive GP care, often for patients at the end of life, increased since 2017. GPs may be forced to make choices owing to increasing workload and evolving care demands.

Conflict of interest and financial support: This study was financially supported by the Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa), an autonomous administrative authority, falling under the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS). 

ICMJE forms provided by the authors are available online along with the full text of this article.