Taking Away the Sting of Insecurity
As mentioned elsewhere in this online issue, there is no doubt that the Netherlands offers top-quality healthcare. Various studies are cited, to which we can add the following: according to the Healthcare Access and Quality Index (based on mortality from causes amenable to healthcare; in other words avoidable or curable through medical care), the Netherlands is in the top-10, worldwide.
Some countries, the citizens of which feel that they have every right to complain about the healthcare they receive here, score considerably lower on this ranking. How can that be? An important underlying issue is; when we are sick, we need to know what to expect and what is expected of us. Healthcare is an issue that is sensitive to cultural differences and, when we are sick, we ourselves are even more sensitive to cultural differences. We want to know what is happening. Which is why The XPat Journal has dedicated an article to explaining what to expect when visiting the specialist – to take away some of the sting of being in an insecure situation.
