Abstract
This chapter looks at nursing home medicine in The Netherlands, internationally a relatively unique medical specialism. What sets it apart is not so much its specialist content - it is a specialist area encompassing elements of geriatrics, rehabilitation medicine and general practice medicine - but primarily the place of nursing home medicine and nursing homes within the organization of healthcare in The Netherlands. Nursing homes here represent an important link between the hospital, the care facility and general practice, and as well as having a residential function also play an important role in the post-acute treatment and rehabilitation of elderly people with functional impairment and chronic conditions. The nursing home physician is both the GP and geriatrician for elderly people living in the nursing home. Because the nursing home physician is employed on a permanent basis by the nursing home, many elderly people requiring care in the nursing home can receive medical treatment for which they would have to be admitted to hospital in other countries (Hoek et al, 2003). The nursing home physician is also involved in the capacity of practitioner or consultant with vulnerable elderly people living at home or in care facilities. This chapter looks at the basic concepts of nursing home medicine against the background of their historical development and at the same time examines their relationship with geriatric practice in the UK.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Care-Giving in Dementia |
| Subtitle of host publication | Research and Applications Volume 4 |
| Publisher | Taylor and Francis |
| Pages | 219-239 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781135453909 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781583911907 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2004 |