Frequently Asked Questions
Contact the GP emergency room for medically urgent questions, which cannot wait until your own GP practice is open. Not all medical complaints are urgent. You can treat many medical complaints yourself or wait until your own GP practice is open again. If you are unsure whether your question is medically urgent, fill in the short questionnaire on our site and within 1 minute you will know which care is appropriate and if necessary you will be called back by us.
The GP emergency room provides emergency care. In order to properly assess the seriousness and degree of urgency of your request for help, it is important that you call us first. The triage nurse will ask you a number of questions about your symptoms to determine what help you need. This process is called triage. If necessary, the triage nurse will then schedule an appointment for a consultation at the GP emergency station or a visit. The triage technician ensures the correct scheduling of the appointments. However, it may happen that you have to wait because a patient comes in between who needs to be helped more urgently.
You may sometimes have to wait a long time. This can be due to a number of reasons:
- People with severe acute conditions always take precedence;
- you have to wait for the specialist;
- the treatment room is occupied;
- your doctor should consult with another specialist;
- We are waiting for the results of investigations.
We will help you as soon as possible. Yet it sometimes seems that it is the turn of others sooner. This is possible because people sit together in the waiting room waiting for different care providers. You don’t all wait for the same health care provider. It is true that people with even more serious complaints than you are more likely to be treated.
No, you have to take care of your belongings yourself. In the GP emergency room, we are not liable for theft, loss or damage to your belongings.
As a patient, you have the right to the protection of your personal data. You should be able to assume that everything you discuss with your counsellor will remain secret. Only the people involved in your treatment are aware of your situation. Information may only be passed on to your partner, family or friends with your consent. In order to guarantee your privacy, the GP emergency station has drawn up protocols on the handling of medical data: Privacy Policy – Huisartsen OZL (huisartsen-ozl.nl). More information about your rights as a patient can be found on the website of the Dutch Data Protection Authority.
Yes, your own GP will receive a report of your visit.
The Medical Treatment Contracts Act (WGBO) has separate rules for four groups of minors:
- Minors under 12 years of age
- Minors aged 12, 13, 14 or 15
- Minors aged 16 and 17
- Minors who are incapacitated(12 to 18 years old)
Below are the rules that apply to these four groups:
Minors under 12 years of age
The parents or guardian(s) are always entitled to information about the minor.
Minors aged 12, 13, 14 or 15
The parents or guardian(s) are entitled to information that is important for their role as educators. The doctor does not have to share information if he feels it is contrary to the care of a good counselor.
The minor must give permission to the GP to share data with other people. The parents and the child can request to view the medical file. The child may object to the parents being able to view the file.
This group of minors is not allowed to enter into a treatment agreement independently. This is done by the parents or guardian(s) on behalf of the minor. For any action associated with the execution of the treatment agreement, both the minor and the parent(s)/guardian(s) must give consent to the doctor. The GP will tell them in advance about what the treatment entails.
Minors aged 16 or 17
The parents or guardian(s) have no right to information. The minor has the right to confidentiality. A patient of 16 or 17 years of age should be treated in the same way as an adult.
Minors who are incapacitated (12 to 18 years old)
The parents or guardian(s) are always entitled to information about minors who are incapacitated. For all incapacitated minors aged 12 to 18, their parents or guardian(s) must make arrangements with their GP about their care and health.
If you are 16 years or older, you can go to the doctor without needing your parents’ permission. You are then allowed to act independently with your GP. The GP is not allowed to pass on information to your parents without your permission and your parents do not have access to your medical file.
You must identify yourself with your passport, identity card, alien’s card or driver’s license. This also applies to children. Young people aged 12 to 14, who do not want their parents/guardians to be aware of the visit to the GP emergency room, can identify themselves with their school card.
We are required to register your Citizen Service Number (BSN). The BSN is a unique personal number. It is used for reliable exchange of medical data and it prevents mistaken identity.
Of course we can help you. But it is necessary that you come by at a later time with your identification. We are obliged to check your BSN. Without your BSN, we cannot request your medical data from healthcare providers other than your GP.
Check www.infoBSNzorg.nl or call the Service Desk of the information point on tel. 0900 – 232 43 42 (€ 0.01 per minute).
Yes, the OZL Service Pharmacy can be found at the rear of the Spoedplein of Zuyderland Medical Center location Heerlen. Here you can get your medication.
The opening hours of the Service Pharmacy are from Monday to Friday from 5.30 pm to 8.30 am on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, the pharmacy is open 24 hours.
In exceptional cases and in very acute cases, you may receive a repeat prescription for a small amount of medication. With these medications, you will make it until the next consultation hour with your own GP. Please contact the Service Pharmacy 045 – 5741004 for more information. The GP Emergency Post and the Service Pharmacy never provide certain repeat medications.
At busy times, we work together with other Limburg GP Emergency Stations. That is why it is possible that you will receive an invoice or a declaration overview from another Limburg GP Emergency Post. For the rates of this post, please refer to the website of the post in question
All GP care is insured through the basic insurance. This means that these costs are not at the expense of your deductible. So you do not have to pay any costs for GP care.
The amount of the costs is determined every year by the Dutch Healthcare Authority.From 01/01/2025, the following rates apply:
- Consultation: € 184.29
- Visit by the GP at your home: € 276.43
- Triage consultation: € 35.00
The telephone contact with the triage nurse of the GP emergency station is a triage consultation. There are costs associated with this. We will charge you for these costs.
Both the telephone consultation and the consultation at the general practitioner’s emergency station and the home visit will be charged. As a rule, we can use your insurance details to claim directly from your health insurer. You don’t have to worry about it. We can claim directly from Dutch health insurers or if you have a ‘European Health Insurance Card’.
If your health insurance details are not known to us, you will receive an invoice at home. You can declare this yourself. Does this bother you? Please contact us and provide us with your health insurance details. Costs of a consultation or treatment can also be paid in cash or by ATM at the GP emergency station. You will then receive a receipt that you can send to your insurer. The financial administration is available on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Wednesday mornings from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on 045 – 747 00 40 and via debiteuren@huisartsenpost-ozl.nl.We can claim directly from your European health insurer if you have a valid ‘European Health Insurance Card’.
Are you not insured? Or if you are not in possession of a ‘European Health Insurance Card’, you will receive your invoice at the counter, which you can pay immediately, preferably by debit card.
If you have any questions about your fracture or if you do not agree with your invoice, you can contact the financial administration of general practitioners OZL, available on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Wednesday mornings from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on 045 – 747 00 40 and via debiteuren@hozl.nl. The rates are set annually by the Healthcare Rates Board. We have to stick to that.