U.S. pediatricians, and particularly pediatric dentists, might want to consider relocating to the Netherlands if business seems slow. Young Dutch people make nearly twice as many trips to the doctor and the dentist than do their U.S. counterparts.
But more of the patients in Holland will be poor — in fact, poor people in Holland make twice as many trips for medical and dental care as do poor people in the U.S. Doctor and dental visits by poor people in the Netherlands are more on par with wealthy young people in the U.S., while the poor in the U.S. make the fewest trips of any household income demographic group in the two nations.
These results emanated from a study conducted by a team of researchers representing both countries. While the two nations of course differ greatly in population size, they have many common characteristics: both are considered "wealthy" and both require people to obtain health insurance, which is subsidized.
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But, the researchers found, the Dutch health system focuses on getting young people living in poverty to the doctor and dentist, on the premise that it's a wise investment long term for the citizenry and thus the country. But in the U.S., at least to date, the system is set up so that access is greater for those with means. Thus, the rich get better health, the poor get poorer health.
Poor people in the Netherlands make about two-and-a-half times more visits to the doctor than do poor youth in the U.S., according to the study, and a similar pattern holds true for dental visits.
However, the trend extends to rich kids as well as poor. The wealthy make more dental and doctor visits in Holland than in the U.S., which suggested to researchers that the Netherlands simply places a greater emphasis on the health of its children than does the U.S. health system, by increasing access across the board to primary medical and dental care.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
