Dear HR policymaker, CFO, CEO,  
Welcome to Royal Doctors  

An employee can contact Royal Doctors him-/herself as soon as a medical problem is identified. Royal Doctors will help someone with a new medical problem to get to the right specialist within 10 days. Royal Doctors also offers a second opinion service. Once the diagnosis has been made and a treatment plan has been drawn up, Royal Doctors can assess both of these and, if necessary, optimise the diagnosis or treatment together with the employee’s doctor. This can dispel any doubts on the part of the patient, and gives employers the confidence that their employees are receiving the best possible care. Finally, Royal Doctors can provide support to people who have got stuck in the healthcare system for whatever reason. In 33% of such cases, a full recovery can still be achieved.

With the exception of emergencies, employees with any medical complaint can contact Royal Doctors for advice and support – including mental health problems.

Royal Doctors ensures that patients go to the right specialist properly prepared. As a result, each patient is saved an average of two consultations. This efficiency ensures that patients receive help sooner, which in turn contributes to shorter waiting lists for everyone.

Yes, a contract with Royal Doctors applies to all employees without exception.

As an employer, you can choose to give your employee’s immediate family members, spouse and children up to 21 years of age access to Royal Doctors for a fee of just €4.99 (excl. VAT) per month.

The Royal Doctors Employee Benefit Programme aims to ensure that employees can function optimally. Illness in the family can affect performance at work and requires extra support at home. A healthy family contributes to the employee’s fitness and well-being.

A second opinion involves three steps: 

1. The patient completes a digital form and authorises Royal Doctors to retrieve data from the medical file;
2. An expert from Royal Doctors assesses the diagnosis and treatment plan and makes recommendations if necessary;
3. The patient then discusses the report with his/her own doctor. Medical data are never shared with employers.

Medical information is private. Royal Doctors respects every employee’s privacy and never shares medical information with employers.

A team of experts at Royal Doctors takes plenty of time to assess a file from a broader perspective, often resulting in new insights or solutions. 
In 25% of cases there are no further medical solutions, although there may be solutions to increase your comfort.
In 75% of cases it turns out that there is still a solution for people whose treatment options are supposedly exhausted. Of the original 100%, 33% are helped by the Complex Care team and end up making a full recovery.

Royal Doctors is active in the Netherlands and Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Occupational health and safety services focus on safety, periodic examinations and reintegration support including consultancy and sick leave reporting, whereas Royal Doctors focuses specifically on the medical side of sick leave and ensuring access to healthcare for employees.

Occupational health and safety services like to work with Royal Doctors, because the two services complement one another with their shared goal of getting and keeping employees healthy. So that the rate of sick leave stays as low as possible.

Treating physicians do not see the involvement of Royal Doctors as an encroachment on their professional territory, but as a form of collaboration. This is because Royal Doctors does not claim to take over the doctor’s role: rather, it offers additional support. The collaboration is seen as positive because Royal Doctors can help speed up the diagnostic process or the obtaining of a second opinion, without any additional burden being placed on the patient.

Royal Doctors supports organisations with an extensive communications package tailored to their specific requirements. Among other elements, this package could include information for new employees, webinars, annual speakers, posters and a campaign called ‘Ask Royal Doctors’. These resources are designed to inform and engage employees with regard to the services Royal Doctors provides.

Employees generally respond very enthusiastically to the introduction of the Royal Doctors Employee Benefit Programme, which they see as a sign of appreciation and recognition from their employer. Royal Doctors acts as a guide through complex care pathways, leading to faster treatment and less uncertainty; this support at different stages of an employee’s illness is highly valued.

If an employee decides not to use the services offered by Royal Doctors, this is a matter of personal choice. Colleagues sometimes encourage each other to use Royal Doctors’ services, but ultimately it is up to the individual employee.

Royal Doctors can make a significant contribution to both higher employee satisfaction and healthier employees. For example, in a company with 1,000 employees, Royal Doctors can, on average, get 50 employees to see the right specialist 60 days earlier, resulting in savings of €750,000 per year. There are also significant financial benefits to be achieved in the case of second opinions and complex healthcare scenarios, with a potential annual saving of €2,000,000 compared with an investment of €120,000 in the services of Royal Doctors.

Although Royal Doctors already has contracts with most Dutch health insurers, the services of the Employee Benefit Programme offer additional benefits that go well beyond what is normally covered by health insurance. This may include less restrictive conditions, and the service is not confined solely to second opinions, which increases its value to both employers and employees.