Service organization and support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the Netherlands

Abstract

Health care in the Netherlands focused on the primary health care provider, the general practitioner, but due to the lack of expertise and resources and with political good-will the Netherlands as the first place in the world in the year 2000 started a special program to educate specific intellectual disability physicians. These specialist are trained for 3 years and can be characterized as a population oriented generalist, like the pediatrician or geriatrician. Management of multiple complex health problems, etiology related problems and handicap related diagnostic and therapeutic problems is his core business. Handling different frequency distributions of health problems and atypical presentation of complaints is part of the medical expertise. In his daily work he takes patient and care system into account, is equipped with specialized communication skills, and knows how to deal with consent issues. This chapter describes the development of this specialty and the focus on training and research and prepareness for future challenges.