ABSTRACT
This chapter shows a change in the activities of general practitioners (GPs) between 1987 and 2001, to meet an increasing demand of care. The most striking changes are a drop in the percentage of home visits from 17% to 9% of all contacts with GPs and the fact that more work is done by telephone and more tasks are performed by assistants. As far as the latter part of the role is concerned, the rate of new referrals best shows the ability of GPs to deal with requests for treatment themselves. Nevertheless, GPs and their assistants still are efficient gatekeepers of the Dutch healthcare system: they deal with 96% of all contacts themselves, whereas for nearly 80% of all health complaints, patients only consult their GPs once. On an annual basis, patients consult the GP's surgery for an average of some different health problems. A distinction can be made between contacts with assistants and contacts with GPs.
