Prevention insured: continuity in the chain of health care

Abstract

To strengthen the role of prevention, the Netherlands make an effort to organize a continuous chain of prevention and health care. Evidence based preventive life style interventions and counseling of high risk individuals will become enclosed in the obligatory standard insurance package of health care. One example is the inclusion of evidence based physical activity programmes for the obese and people with prediabetes. Guidelines for Prevention Consults in primary care are under construction. But still some questions about availability and accessability and about the role of culture and local policy remain unsolved. A bundle of short articles describe ins and outs of the implementation of this new policy, as well as some critical ethical and financial issues that come up.

With contributions of Mastenbroek, Bloemers, Kremers & Helmink, Horstman, Timmerman and Van den Hombergh