Complex primary care for multimorbid patients in the Netherlands: Interprofessional perspectives within and beyond general practice

Abstract

Many consultations in general practice concern patients with multimorbidity, pressuring our healthcare systems with complex care needs. The number of people affected from multimorbidity is still increasing, as is the average number of co-occurring diseases per patient. The resulting complexity of care needs cannot be managed by health professionals from a single discipline, but requires interprofessional collaborative practice.

This paper describes best practices from the Netherlands to facilitate interprofessional caretaking of patients with multimorbidity in primary care. The focus here is on collaborations within general practice and at community level.