The Netherlands

Nederlandse Vereniging voor Klinische Geriatrie
Dutch Geriatrics Society

Some facts on demography and geriatrics in the Netherlands…

Total population: 17,9 million
Percentage above 65 Yr: 20.2%
Percentage above 80 Yr: 4.9%

Number of physicians: 78777
Number of geriatricians: 403
Total number of hospital beds: ..
Number of geriatric beds: unknown

Geriatrics is recognised as a...

• speciality since >20 years (1983)

Members of the society

Total number of Members: 678
Geriatricians: 404
Residents: 175
GP’s:  0
Internists: 46
Nurses: 0
Other therapists: 0
Members of honour: 8
Retired members: 45

Overall goals of the society

The mission of the Dutch Geriatrics Society is to promote appropriate care for the frail elder people and to take care of the interests of geriatricians and her residents The Vision of the Dutch Geriatrics Society is to ensure that every frail elder person has the right and the ability to get a geriatric assessment.

Special interest groups within society

Special interest groups are formed on informationtechnology, gerontopharmacotherapy, Dementia, fall prevention, geriatric oncology, geriatric traumatology, palliative care, and cardiology

To contact a special interest group, please send an email.

Other activities…

National Scientific Congress:

In February is the two days annual scientific congress “Geriatriedagen”. This congress is organized in collaboration with the Dutch Internist Society, and the Society of Physiotherapists in Geriatric Medicine.

Other Educational Activities:

Organizing Teaching days are organized for the residents in training.
Organizing training for all members

List of geriatric chairs and research centres in the country

There are 8 university hospitals, only one has a full professor in Geriatric Medicine. There is a “special” chair Geriatrics placed within the section family medicine and nursing home medicine in one university hospital, and 3 other university hospitals have chairs in Internal Medicine with special attention for the elderly.

University Hospital	Research Themes
Erasmus MC	Cardiometabolic aging   Determinants of cognitive and functional decline   Ethical complex decision at the end-of-life   Periprocedural assessment
UMC Utrecht	The older patient with cardiovascular problems Optimizing pharmacotherapy in the elderly innovation of healthcare
LUMC	Acute care for elderly Renal replacement therapy in elderly Cardiovascular aging/ human aging Oncology in elderly, in particular breast cancer Substitution of 2nd- to 1st-line care transmural appropriate care for older people Chair: Prof. dr. Gerard Jan (G. J.) Blauw
Radboud UMC	Radboud UMC Alzheimer Center & Alzheimer research theme Adapting health care to the physical and cognitive resilience of older patients Chair: Prof. dr. Yvonne Schoon
UMC Groningen	Substantiate methods and outcomes for shared decision-making to tailor treatment to the individual patient and their desired goals; Gather scientific evidence on the benefits of an optimally coordinated treatment for patients with multiple chronic conditions; Underpin the value of proactive care planning so that there is more evidence for outcomes in non-curative treatment; Contribute to the knowledge of cognitive functioning in diseases and its impact on integrated care Chair: Prof. dr. Barbara C. van Munster
Maastricht UMC+	Trauma/ortho-geriatrics   Coagulation and anticoagulant drug therapy and risk/benefits in older patients   Polypharmacy and medication-related hospital admissions in older patients   Nefrogeriatrics   CAPHRI-research: public health and primary care.   Alzheimer Centre  Limburg
AmsterdamUMC	Heart-Brain connection   Cardiovascular aging   Innovative and digital healthcare   Falls and fractures prevention   Innovative transmural care   Geriatric oncology/hematology Chairs: Prof dr Majon Muller/Prof dr Bianca Buurman/Prof dr Nathalie van der Velde   Polyfarmacy & pharmacotherapy Chair: Prof dr Rob van Marum

Achievements of geriatric medicine in the Netherlands...

• Continuous efforts of the Board of our Society have put elderly care on the political agenda.
• The number of training positions (which is decided by the government) is 36 yearly.
• The hospital based Safety Management Program includes screening for geriatric giants in every patient above the age of 70 year who is admitted to a hospital.
• In 2023 a research agenda has been drafted with the Top 10 research questions to be answered in the next 5 years.