The healthcare system in the Netherlands is a bit different from that in many other countries. Healthcare in the Netherlands is divided into primary and secondary care. Basic care is provided in the primary care sector. This includes general practitioner care, dental care, and midwife care. You can always access these practices without a referral.

If in the primary care sector a professional decides together with you that the care needed is more complex or requires more intensive treatment, a referral will be made to the secondary care sector. Most diagnostics and hospital care fall in this category.

Emergencies:
In the event of serious accidents or illnesses, you can reach the emergency services via 112.

For urgent but not acute cases, you can call your own GP, ​​or outside office hours, the GP out-of-hours service (Huisartsenpost Delft): 015 2511930.

Medication:
Some medication is not on presciption. A lot of painkillers and medication to deal with a common cold or allergies can be bought at the supermarket or drugstore. Our assistant can also help you with advice if you have questiona about this medication.

Other medication is just available on presciption at the pharmacy. You will need a prescription from your GP or specialist to collect this medication.

Referrals:
A referral from your GP is required to be diagnosed or treated in the hospital. Without a referral, there is a high probability that the hospital bill will not be reimbursed by your insurance.

To make an appointment with the GP, you must be registered with the practice. You can register as a patient online or our practice.

You fill out the registration form. Click on the link below for more information on how this works, how to make an appointment, and what to bring to your first visit.

This section of the website is in Dutch, but you can use the language/flag button at the top of our home page to translate the website into another language.

Registration

As an international student it is very important to make sure you have an adequate health insurance policy as medical treatment and medication are expensive. This insurance policy is personal. If you are not properly insured, you will have to pay the expenses yourself. However, health care insurance does not cover all medical expenses. In general it does not cover a routine medical check up and dental care. Which care is included can be found in your insurance policy.

Visits to the GP are always covered by your insurance. Patients with a foreign insurance company will need to pay the consultation costs up-front, but these will be reimbursed. 

In general, costs related to examinations and admissions to hospital are also covered completely. However, there are also types of insurance that only cover examination and treatment of ‘new’ complaints. For example, if you already had diabetes before you registered with this insurance, all diabetic treatments will not be covered. It may also be the case that complaints that do not require emergency medical care are not covered, as you could have gone back to your home country for treatment. An example of this is cosmetic surgery.

Always read your insurance policy carefully – that way you will avoid nasty financial surprises.

Often, dental care and physical therapy are also not covered by your standard insurance package. Whether this is covered or not can also be found in your insurance policy.

It is mandatory for PhD students to have Dutch insurance. Dutch insurance companies work with an excess (‘eigen risico’ in Dutch). This means that the first costs will have to be paid yourself, to an annual cumulative maximum. Consultations with your GP are not part of the excess, and are fully covered by the insurance.

More info can be found at:

Healthcare insurance system

Information Insured to Study

EU information on European Health Insurance Card

To make an appointment for a medical certificate or vaccinations, you can contact us by email or phone:

info@sgz.nl / 0031 152121507

You can find more information about the options and what to bring via the link below. You can translate the Dutch information into another language using the translate button/flag at the home page. 

Studentengezondheidszorg (SGZ)

Since 2024, we have had an agreement with IHE Delft to provide medical care to their students as long as they are enrolled in the IHE program.

We offer primary care as is customary in the Netherlands. This means that, in addition to acute care, you can also contact us by phone or email for less urgent medical questions.

Registration and appointments:
You must first register with the practice before you can make an appointment. During this appointment, we will get to know you and discuss any medical issues you currently have or have had in the past. We will also discuss your current complaints.

Costs:
You are asked to pay for your appointment in advance. You can pay by debit card or credit card. All costs can be claimed from your health insurance. IHE has ensured that all their students have AON health insurance.

Should you experience problems with the advance payment, you can contact the IHE student desk to find a solution.

You can find the current rates for consultations here.

Chronic conditions:
If you have a chronic condition, such as diabetes, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy, etc., for which you require prescription medication, it is advisable to register with the practice before medical problems arise. This way, we can discuss together what is needed to keep your condition stable and prevent complications.

Medication:
Some medication is not on presciption. A lot of painkillers and medication to deal with a common cold or allergies can be bought at the supermarket or drugstore. Our assistant can also help you with advice if you have questiona about this medication.

Other medication is just available on presciption at the pharmacy. You will need a prescription from your GP or specialist to collect this medication.

Other questions:
If you have any further questions or would like more information, you can contact us by phone or email. Below on our website you can find a number of links to websites with reliable and useful information.

For medical care according to Dutch law, price agreements are made every year and apply to consultations for patients from other countries without Dutch healthinsurance. These costs depend on the time the doctor spends.

You can find an overview with the costs for consultation here.

Information about our costs for medical certificates, vaccinations or other support services you can find the SGZ part of this website. Click on this link.