Doctors note sharp decrease in urgent house calls

Doctors in Belgium made 27,266 urgent house calls in 2014, writes the online medical magazine News4Med based on figures from the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (Inami). The figure is a 57% decrease compared to the previous year. The General Practitioners (GPs) name changes in nomenclature and increasingly self-reliant patients as reasons for the significant decrease, De Morgen reports.

In 2013, GPs in Belgium made 63,465 urgent house calls. In 2014, this number was more than halved, to 27,266 visits. The number of urgent consultations at the doctor's office, by contrast, increased by 1.6% in the same period, and the number of trips to the emergency room also increased, from about 4.3 million to nearly 4.5 million.

According to several GP associations, there are two reasons for the evolution. The first is a less dependent population. "People are more self-reliant," says Maaike Van Overloop of Domus Medica in De Morgen. "A classic example is diabetes. People now know exactly what to do in an emergency." Herman Moeremans of GP association SVH adds, "The public is also more aware that not every case is urgent."

The second explanation for the decrease is a change in nomenclature, or how the doctor’s rates are calculated. "Previously, visits to nursing homes were charged at the same rate as house calls, but those now fall under the normal fee," says Moeremans.