ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the research questions: how has the supply of general practitioners (GPs) developed in the last decade and how will this supply develop up to the year 2020? to what extent will there be a shortage or a surplus of GPs in 2010 and 2020, if the demand for GP care develops according to the demographic and epidemiological projections made in the previous chapter? Healthcare manpower policy in the Netherlands is characterised by a highly fragmented structure. Many organisations play a part in it and a complicating factor is that the organisations involved in planning are not the same as those involved in financing the educational system. Organising the practice more efficiently could be another option to extend GP care supply. Data from the second Dutch National Survey of General Practice (DNSGP-2) show that, over the last 10 years, GPs have managed to do more in less time.
