General practitioners’ views on the influence of long-term care reforms on integrated elderly care in the Netherlands: a qualitative interview study

Abstract

This study explores the long-term care (LTC) reform in the Netherlands and its relation to the day-to-day integrated care for frail elderly people, from the perspective of general practitioners (GPs). We assessed GP perspectives regarding which elements of the LTC reform have promoted and hindered the provision of person-centred, integrated care for elderly people in the Netherlands. We performed case studies conducted by semi-structured interviews, using the Healthy Alliances (HALL) framework as a framework for thematic analysis. GPs reported that the ideals of the LTC reform (self-reliance) were largely achievable and listed a number of positive effects, including increased healthcare professional engagement and the improved integration of the medical and social domains through the close involvement of social support teams. The reported negative implications were a lack of co-ordination in the implementation of the reforms by the municipality, insufficient funding for multidisciplinary team meetings and the reinforced fragmentation of home care. In particular, the implementation of the system reforms took place with little regard for the local context. We suggest that the implementation of national care reforms should be aligned with factors operating at the micro level and make the following recommendations: use one central location for primary health and social services, integrate regional ICT structures to improve the exchange of patient information, and reduce fragmentation in home care.