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<p><strong>In many general practices, communication with patients still takes place almost entirely over the phone. This leads to long wait times, high workloads for assistants, and unrest in the workplace. General practitioner Peter Dekkers from Apeldoorn experienced this firsthand every day in his own practice. That’s why he developed PraatmetdeDokter: a messaging app that lets patients chat with their general practice via AI. Not to automate care, but to organize the work differently. </strong></p><p><img src="https://cms.aihub-oost.nl/uploads/Praatmetdedokter_404af25e0f.jpg?token=6egHn6p6qbYbDiYfZIItCe_qQO8bT5IVIg6_6in-9ec&amp;expires=1777470974" alt="Praatmetdedokter.jpg" srcset="https://cms.aihub-oost.nl/uploads/thumbnail_Praatmetdedokter_404af25e0f.jpg?token=3-oPlY7wdnMnlKherc7URTx_HXAyuL-Omh01WeK1yCs&amp;expires=1777470974 208w,https://cms.aihub-oost.nl/uploads/small_Praatmetdedokter_404af25e0f.jpg?token=gXRfNf7f6-k5549DwKbqpDEBmhSj-B1vsWBOCsbZoKI&amp;expires=1777470974 500w,https://cms.aihub-oost.nl/uploads/medium_Praatmetdedokter_404af25e0f.jpg?token=TjITJRzlvTZX4ut1sxx2D_H5MhxjaIaqHT8ygwQJqZA&amp;expires=1777470974 750w,https://cms.aihub-oost.nl/uploads/large_Praatmetdedokter_404af25e0f.jpg?token=MvV5NEuUvh8UeoofSKO4o1UOX8PPnTzG4wyEnOKoMyg&amp;expires=1777470974 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="5712" height="4284"></p><blockquote><p>“At some practices, nearly 100 percent of contact happens over the phone,” Dekkers explains. “That means you always have to answer the phone the exact moment a patient calls. You can only handle calls one at a time, and that requires a lot of staff.”</p></blockquote><p>According to him, this way of working is under pressure. The phone rings constantly; assistants spend the entire day answering and transferring calls, and other tasks get left undone. At the same time, he observes that communication outside the healthcare sector has long operated differently. “In our personal lives, we hardly ever call anymore. We send messages. That way, you can respond whenever it’s convenient for both sides.” That idea was the starting point for <a href="https://www.praatmetdedokter.nl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">PraatmetdeDokter</a>.</p><h2>Messaging with the practice, supported by AI </h2><p>With PraatmetdeDokter, patients can ask their own family practice a question via an app. This is also possible outside of business hours. Urgent matters are still handled by phone, but questions that don’t need to be addressed immediately come in via chat.</p><p>AI is used to structure the conversation. “Patients often provide too little information,” says Dekkers. “If someone just says, ‘I have a stomachache,’ that doesn’t tell us much.” The AI model therefore automatically asks follow-up questions, such as how long the symptoms have been present, whether there is a fever, and how severe the pain is. This helps build a more complete picture right from the start.</p><p>The practice always retains control over the response. “The patient receives a response from the primary care physician or the assistant. The computer doesn’t decide what happens,” Dekkers emphasizes. “We know the patient and the context. We want to keep it that way.”</p><h2>Fewer phone calls, better overview </h2><p>PraatmetdeDokter has now been in use at Dekkers’ practice for two years. The impact is most noticeable in how work is distributed. Questions come in gradually rather than all at once over the phone. General practitioners and assistants can group messages and handle them at set times.</p><p>“I don’t have to reply to a message right away,” says Dekkers. “I can do that an hour later. That gives me peace of mind.” Phone availability remains in place for emergencies, but many other questions are handled via chat.</p><p>Patients appreciate this way of working. They can formulate their questions whenever it’s convenient for them and experience shorter wait times. The app receives an average rating between 8 and 10. “Convenience and speed are often mentioned,” says Dekkers.</p><p>This technology is now being used beyond Apeldoorn. About 80 family practice clinics in the Netherlands use PraatmetdeDokter. This shows that the issues surrounding phone availability and workload are more widespread and that this approach can also be applied in other clinics.</p><h2>Digitization Is Not an End in Itself </h2><p>The introduction of chat and AI in general practice raised questions at first. “Some colleagues said, ‘Things are going fine as they are, aren’t they?’” Dekkers explains. “And that’s true—many practices provide good care.” At the same time, he points to the statistics: the shortage of healthcare workers is growing.</p><p>“We need those people for actual healthcare work,” he says. “Not to answer the phone all day.” According to Dekkers, digitization is therefore not an end in itself, but a way to make better use of existing capacity.</p><p>He emphasizes that IT in healthcare is complex. Regulations, privacy, and certification require time and attention. “You have to take that into account and not think you can just ‘quickly’ build something.”</p><h2>Broad Change in Primary Care </h2><p>Dekkers sees PraatmetdeDokter as part of a broader shift in primary care. His hope is that more practices will adopt this approach and that regional collaboration will improve.</p><p>“In a region, one practice might have temporary capacity while another is very busy,” he says. “If you set up administrative processes properly, you can support one another.” Digital communication makes that easier, without patients having to call over and over again.</p><p>According to him, the goal isn’t to replace care with technology, but to make staff shortages less noticeable. “Care must remain accessible to patients. This helps ensure that continues.”</p><h2>Four tips from Dekkers for entrepreneurs who want to use AI </h2><ol><li>Solve a specific problem that you’re experiencing yourself</li><li>Start small and improve step by step</li><li>Keep people in control</li><li>Take regulations and complexity into account</li></ol><p>PraatmetdeDokter demonstrates how AI can help reduce daily workloads without changing the core of the work: personal contact between healthcare provider and patient. For more information about PraatmetdeDokter, visit: <a href="https://www.praatmetdedokter.nl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">PraatmetdeDokter</a>.</p><p>Back</p>

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<p>In many general practices, communication with patients still takes place almost entirely over the phone. This leads to long wait times, high workloads for assistants, and unrest in the workplace. General practitioner Peter Dekkers from Apeldoorn experienced this firsthand every day in his own practice. That’s why he developed PraatmetdeDokter: a messaging app that allows patients to chat with their general practice via AI. Not to automate care, but to organize the work differently.&nbsp;</p>