Whenever we have a medical problem, we often turn to the Internet to find answers before contacting a doctor. However, unreliable — or even downright false — medical information can often be found online. To prevent you from making use of that information, the Dutch College of General Practitioners (NHG) created a website: Thuisarts.nl.

The information on this central platform was compiled by GPs and is independent and scientifically sound. The NHG continuously ensures that the website remains up-to-date and is adjusted to the latest medical guidelines.

Thuisarts.nl provides reliable information about health and illness. Visitors can access the website with questions and complaints at home, before, during, and after a visit to the family doctor. Thuisarts.nl helps people to:

• Deal with complaints themselves;

• Stay healthy;

• Assess whether a visit to the doctor is necessary;

• Prepare for a consultation with the GP;

• Review the doctor's explanations and recommendations.

The website is the central platform on which all information is published. Various channels are linked to that platform — think of waiting room screens, mobile apps, and various health sites such as Apotheek.nl and Zorgkaart Nederland.

More and more parties see and feel the added value of a website like Thuisarts.nl. For example, there is already information about specialist care and infectious diseases on the platform, and information about psychological complaints and disorders will soon be added. All this is made possible by cooperation with the Federation of Medical Specialists, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment and the Network Quality Development GGZ.

The content on the website is increasingly used and consulted, and the platform becomes more complete and indispensable every day.

The website quickly grew to become the most visited healthcare website in the Netherlands with more than 4 million unique page views per month. Never before has a website had such an impact on the Dutch healthcare sector.

The Leiden University Medical Centre showed that there was a 12% reduction in the number of contacts to GP practices. This is good news in times of rising healthcare costs. The website helps to ensure that GPs can spend their time more efficiently.

The experts at iO built the website in Drupal — a CMS we have been working with for over 15 years. Drupal is the perfect CMS for large content platforms with a lot of sensitive information (such as Thuisarts.nl): it offers a lot of freedom, is very structured, and excels in privacy and security. Moreover, the NHG and GPs can continuously develop, edit, and publish the medical content on the website thanks to a user-friendly workflow.