Physicians and primary care physicians

Physicians

Physicians are concerned with the prevention and treatment of ailments. The care they dispense is known as primary or front-line care.

Primary care tends to be provided by general and specialist practitioners in medical practices or in health and social welfare centres and as part of prevention and screening programmes. Primary dental care is provided by dentists.

The prices for consultations and medical procedures are set by a pricing scheme agreed upon by the Physicians and Dentists Association (Association des médecins et médecins-dentistes - AMMD) and the National Health Fund (Caisse nationale de santé - CNS, formerly the UCM). Physicians are bound to abide by these prices, other than in exceptional cases expressly stipulated by the governing texts. Typically, the patient will pay the physician directly, and then apply to the health insurance fund for reimbursement.

Luxembourg has a system of ‘liberal medicine’, whereby healthcare is a paid-for service, rather than being funded by the State. General practitioners are usually self-employed. They work in private practices, either individually or in practices from which several physicians operate.

Patients may choose the general practitioner by whom they wish to be treated. Patients also have the right to consult a specialist directly, without the need to be referred to the specialist by a general practitioner.

Primary care physician

As of 1 January 2012, all people covered by health insurance can freely choose their primary care physician (médecin référent).

The primary care physician plays a crucial role in a patient’s medical treatment – especially in case of a chronic illness or a complex health condition. Not only is the primary care physician the doctor who usually treats the patient; they also:

• coordinate the patient’s care and ensure they receive optimal medical treatment;
• refer the patient, if necessary, to other healthcare professionals (specialists, physiotherapists, etc.);
• manage the patient’s medical file, pooling all information concerning the patient’s care and their state of health (test results, diagnoses, treatments, etc.);
• provide personalised prevention, by helping the patient to avoid health risks.

Benefits of the system of primary care physicians

The primary care physician helps to improve the quality of the care provided to the patient and the performance of the healthcare system as a whole.

By overseeing the patient’s journey through the healthcare system, the primary care physician is notably able to:

• prevent double prescribing or drug interactions, thus optimising consumption of medicinal products;
• prevent needless appointments;
• limit the number of tests and/or analyses that need to be carried out.

By remaining by the patient’s side for the long term, the primary care physician:

• enhances the value of their role as a trusted doctor;
• promotes the patient’s health and safety;
• guides the patient through the healthcare system, acting as their trusted advisor;
• provides the patient with targeted support in the long term, in case of a complex or prolonged health issue.