Ongoing assessments within the Sensible Care Program of the Dutch Healthcare Institute

In Sensible Care projects, the Dutch Healthcare Institute (ZIN), together with parties, is investigating the possibilities for improving care pathways for patients.

The ZIN launched the "Sensible Care" program in 2013, the systematic review of the diagnostic and treatment options within the current basic health insurance package to provide appropriate provision and use of medical care.

The method has four phases:

• Screening phase: the ZIN examines with the parties involved which care is currently being provided and which subjects can be improved.
• In-depth phase: ZIN determines for each topic what can be improved and discuss with the parties involved how they will achieve this
• Implementation phase: the parties implement the improvements. The ZIN supports them where necessary
• Evaluation phase: the final stage when ZIN checks whether the goals have been achieved.

As of early November 2020, there are 30 ongoing assessments at different phases:

• Orthopedics
  • Sensible care in the treatment of knee and hip osteoarthritis (evaluation phase)
  • Sensible care in with rheumatoid arthritis (in-depth phase)
• Blood and immune system
  • Sensible care for people with deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism (in-depth phase)
• Heart, lung, and vascular care
  • Sensible Care for people with asthma (in-depth phase)
  • Sensible Care for implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) (in-depth phase)
  • Sensible Care for people with COPD (implementation phase)
  • Sensible Care for people with peripheral arterial vascular disease (PAD) (implementation phase)
  • Sensible Care for people with chest pain (suspected stable angina pectoris) (implementation phase)
  • Sensible Care for people with sleep apnea (in-depth phase)
• Cancer
  • Sensible Care - End-of-life care for people with incurable colon cancer or lung cancer (implementation phase)
  • Sensible Care - Meaningful follow-up in women treated for breast cancer (implementation phase)
  • Sensible Care - Follow-up for people with non-melanoma skin cancer and actinic keratosis (implementation phase)
  • Sensible care - Sensible use of medicines in people with castration-refractory prostate carcinoma (evaluation phase)
• Digestion and oral care
  • Sensible Care for people with stomach complaints (in-depth phase)
• Metabolism and hormone balance
  • Sensible Care for people with osteoporosis (implementation phase)
• Nervous system
  • Sensible Care for people with low back complaints (in-depth phase)
• ENT and skin
  • Sensible Care for people with eczema (in-depth phase)
  • Sensible Care for people with macular degeneration (in-depth phase)
  • Sensible Care for people with middle ear infection (in-depth phase)
  • Sensible Care for people with psoriasis (in-depth phase)
  • Sensible Care for people with hearing impairment and deafness (in-depth phase)
  • Sensible Care for people with cataracts (deepening phase)
• Pregnancy, childbirth, and gynecological disorders
  • Sensible Care for women with the cervical cytological abnormality (CIN) (implementation phase)
  • Sensible Care for women with pelvic floor complaints (in-depth phase)
• Care for disabled people
  • Sensible care for people with mild intellectual disabilities and health problems (in-depth phase)
  • Sensible Care for people with intellectual disabilities and behavior problems (in-depth phase)
• Mental health
  • Sensible Care for people with psychosis (in-depth phase)
  • Sensible Care for people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (in-depth phase)

The full details in Dutch can be found here.

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