The Implementation of the Directive on the Application of Patients' Rights in Cross-border Healthcare in the Netherlands

This article discusses the significance of the directive 2011/24/eu on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare for the protection of individual patients’ rights in the netherlands by describing how its provisions are implemented in dutch health law. The responsible dutch authorities take the view that most of the directive’s provisions and requirements are covered in existing dutch law. Implementation of the directive would only require adaptations to national legislation with regard to the establishment of a national contact point for cross-border healthcare and the recognition of medical prescriptions issued in another member state. This article looks into the question of how far the dutch law meets the requirements of the directive in relation to the individual patients’ rights addressed in this special issue of the european journal of health law.