An assessment of occupational health care in the Netherlands (1996-2005)

Abstract

Background: The extensive Dutch occupational health care system of the past decade has not led to the desired outcomes, namely, a decrease of work absenteeism and the associated costs. Aim: To assess the differences between in-house and external occupational health care services in the process quality of occupational health care provided. Methods: In total, 26 interviews were conducted with chief executive officers of occupational health services (OHS). The responses and other relevant policy documents were analysed and described. A key component of this process was to compare differences between in-house and external services. Results: Notable differences in quality were found to exist between in-house and external occupational health care systems, with the in-house occupational health care services offering the highest process quality. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the effectiveness of OHS is mainly dependent on their structure (in-house versus external) and on economic factors (profit driven versus not for profit). © 2006 Oxford University Press.