More foreign patients at Erasmus MC

KLM Health Services BV, Royal Schiphol Group and Erasmus MC have set up the International Patient Centre (IPC). IPC’s goal is to make the highly complex care available to Dutch patients also available to patients from abroad.

The Dutch health care system is held in high regard internationally, which presents an opportunity for the Netherlands to become an important destination for medical travel. That is why the International Patient Centre the Netherlands (IPC) has been established. The centre is expected to increase scientific knowledge in the Netherlands by treating more patients there, and also to benefit the quality of care for Dutch patients. Dutch patients will not be negatively impacted by this situation.

Treatment of all patients from abroad at Erasmus MC will be run through IPC from now on. IPC’s care coordinator will mediate between the patient and the specialist providing care, and will arrange medical transport, facilities and accommodation for the international patient with the help of KLM Health Services and Royal Schiphol Group.

Brinio Veldhuijzen van Zanten, Managing Director of KLM Health Services BV, said: “KLM Health Services is pleased to contribute its knowledge and experience to IPC for patients who want to travel to a medical centre with great treatment options. We believe Erasmus MC to be such a place.”

Jos Nijhuis, CEO of Royal Schiphol Group, said: “Schiphol is one of the most well-connected airports in the world. We are happy to utilise that position, and our knowledge and facilities, to provide healthcare to people from all over the world.”

Ernst Kuipers, Chairman of the Executive Board for Erasmus MC, said: "Our vision for Erasmus MC is to link complex specialist medical care with international patients and their care demands. The Dutch health care system is the best in Europe. It is held in high regard in international rankings, scoring an average of 9.3 on the Euro Health Consumer Index. This presents a great opportunity to make the Netherlands an important medical travel destination”.

IPC is led by Managing Director Stephanie de Blécourt.