Box 1. Features of general practitioner (GP) cooperatives in the Netherlands [1].

• Circa 125 GP cooperatives in the Netherlands

• Out-of-hours defined as daily from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. and the entire weekend

• Population of 100 000 to 500 000 patients

• Distances to GP cooperative not exceeding 30 km

• GP cooperative usually situated in or near a hospital

• Access via a single regional telephone number, meaning the first contact is mostly with a triage nurse (only 5–10% walk in without a call in advance)

• Telephone triage by nurses supervised by GPs: contacts are divided into telephone advice, centre consult, or GP home visit

• Most triage nurses are GP assistants, who received intermediate vocational training (80%); the remaining 20% are nurses with a bachelor's degree

• Participation of 50–250 GPs per cooperative with a mean of four hours on call per week

• GP shift lasts 6–8 hours, with a fixed salary of about 65 euros per hour

• Per shift GPs have different roles: home visits, centre consults, and supervising telephone triage

• Drivers in identifiable GP cars that are fully equipped (e.g. oxygen, intravenous drip equipment, automated external defibrillator, medication)

• Information and communication technology (ICT) support including electronic patient files, online connection to the GP car, and sometimes connection with the electronic medical record in the GP daily practice