HZW - Huisartsenzorg Zaanstreek Waterland

What HZW - Huisartsenzorg Zaanstreek Waterland does

HZW Huisartsenzorg Zaanstreek Waterland is a Dutch regional healthcare coordination organization operating as a cooperative of general practitioners in the Zaanstreek Waterland region of North Holland. Founded in 2002 and legally structured as Huisartsenzorg Zaanstreek Waterland BV with a wholly-owned operating subsidiary HZW Huisartsenposten BV, the organization represents approximately 45+ GP practices in the region, providing them with operational support, training, digital collaboration tools, and representation in regional healthcare policy negotiations.

The organization's core service is the Huisartsenposten (emergency GP out-of-hours service), operating at two physical locations — Zaandam (hosted at Zaans Medisch Centrum) and Purmerend (hosted at Dijklander Ziekenhuis) — covering evening, night, weekend, and holiday urgent care. Underlying this is a regional digital platform stack including VIPLive (collaboration and proactive care planning, with the PZP-formulier consulted approximately 60 times per month), Topicus HAP (emergency post information system), MedicPlek (regional documentation and communication platform), Vcare telephony (deployed across both locations since March 2022), and the MINDD self-triage tool. Additional offerings include structured care pathways (zorgpaden) for osteoarthritis, COPD, CVRM, type 2 diabetes, mental health, youth/family care, elderly care, dementia, fall prevention, and palliative care; education programs (NetwerkIntake and RookStop training, free for regional healthcare workers); and digital support services via HZW Digiwijzer.

HZW operates as a non-profit/cooperative funded through the Dutch healthcare system, including insurance reimbursements for emergency GP services and government-funded programs for care coordination and training. Pricing for training is freemium for in-region healthcare workers (€125 for out-of-region e-learning accreditation, €50 no-show fee). The organization holds HKZ quality management certification (since 2011, renewed triennially) and is GDPR/AVG compliant. The 82-employee organization is governed by member GPs through Board, Supervisory Board, Works Council, and Client Council structures.

Name

HZW - Huisartsenzorg Zaanstreek Waterland

Legal name

Huisartsenzorg Zaanstreek Waterland BV

Website

https://hzwhuisartsenzorg.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

HZW Huisartsenzorg Zaanstreek Waterland is a Dutch regional cooperative of ~45+ GP practices that operates two emergency GP out-of-hours posts in Zaandam and Purmerend and provides coordination, training, and digital collaboration platforms for general practitioners in the Zaanstreek Waterland region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Wormer

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Healthcare System Funding: HZW operates as a healthcare organization coordinating GP care in the region, funded through the Dutch healthcare system including insurance reimbursements for emergency GP services and government-funded programs for care coordination and training

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

HZW operates as a regional healthcare coordination organization for general practitioners in the Zaanstreek Waterland region of the Netherlands. It provides 24/7 emergency GP out-of-hours services at two physical locations (Zaandam and Purmerend), regional digital collaboration platforms (VIPLive, MedicPlek), care pathway programs for chronic conditions, training and continuing education for GPs and support staff, and acts as the representative body for GPs in regional healthcare policy. The organization operates as a cooperative of approximately 82 employees serving 45+ affiliated GP practices.

Product overview

HZW Huisartsenzorg Zaanstreek Waterland operates as a regional healthcare coordination organization for GP practices in the Zaanstreek and Waterland regions of the Netherlands. The organization provides two core service platforms: the Huisartsenposten (emergency GP out-of-hours service) at Zaandam and Purmerend locations, and VIPLive, a regional collaboration platform enabling digital referrals, care reporting, and visibility of Proactive Care Planning (PZP) information across GP practices. Supporting platforms include MedicPlek for regional documentation and communication, and the HZW Digiwijzer program for digital adoption support. Patient-facing tools include the MINDD self-triage widget and self-measurement programs. Care is organized through structured care pathways (zorgpaden) covering chronic conditions including osteoarthritis, COPD, cardiovascular risk, diabetes, mental health, elderly care, and palliative care. Educational services include NetwerkIntake training for recovery-oriented conversations and RookStop training for smoking cessation support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HZW Huisartsenposten: Emergency GP care services during evening, night, weekend and holiday hours
• MedicPlek
• HZW Digiwijzer
• VIPLive

Products and services

• Huisartsenposten Zaanstreek Waterland Emergency GP out-of-hours service operating during evening, night, weekend hours and public holidays. Provides urgent primary care at two locations — Zaandam (at Zaans Medisch Centrum) and Waterland (at Dijklander Purmerend) — with telephone triage, consultations, and home visits for patients in the Zaanstreek Waterland region.
• VIPLive Regional Collaboration Platform Regional collaboration platform connecting GP practices in Zaanstreek Waterland. Enables digital referrals to dietitians, care reporting, and provides visibility of Proactive Care Planning (PZP) patient information accessible to both GP practices and the Huisartsenpost.
• MedicPlek Regional documentation and communication platform for GP practices in Zaanstreek Waterland, enabling information sharing, documentation, and coordination among healthcare providers across the region.
• HZW Digiwijzer Digital support program offering guidance on digital tools, voice technology, systems and applications for GP practices, including training to become a digital coach within the practice.
• Zorgpaden (Care Pathways) Organized care programs including osteoarthritis, COPD, cardiovascular risk management (CVRM), type 2 diabetes, mental health (GGZ), youth and family, elderly care, osteoporosis, and palliative care, with regional agreements and collaboration frameworks among GP practices and other healthcare providers.
• Proactieve Zorg Planning (PZP) Proactive Care Planning program for vulnerable elderly patients, including PZP conversations, documentation, and visibility in patient records to ensure appropriate care during out-of-hours periods, consulted approximately 60 times per month.
• NetwerkIntake Scholing Recovery-oriented conversation method training for POH-GGZ and other practice support staff, providing tools for broader problem analysis beyond DSM classifications, built on the Positive Health philosophy. Free for POH-GGZ and interested POH-S from the Zaanstreek-Waterland region; €125 accreditation fee for those outside the region.
• RookStop-basistraining Two-evening training program teaching smoking cessation care skills including motivational interviewing, pharmacological support, and behavioral change techniques for healthcare professionals, with Trimbos Instituut managing accreditation and registration in the KABIZ quality register for stop-smoking coaches.
• MINDD (Moet ik naar de dokter?) Self-Triage Digital self-triage tool enabling patients to determine whether they need urgent medical care. Available as a widget for GP practice websites and integrated into the Huisartsenpost website, using the same triage standard as the emergency GP post, with potential 11% reduction in GP emergency post calls.
• Zelfmetingen (Self-measurements) Self-measurement program enabling patients to monitor and share health measurements with their GP practice for ongoing health management.

Quantifiable outcome

• 11% reduction in phone calls to GP emergency post possible through MINDD self-triage tool
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Dijklander Ziekenhuis (DLZ)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022The Dijklander Hospital in Purmerend hosts the Huisartsenpost Waterland location. HZW and DLZ collaborate on emergency GP care, with the hospital providing facilities for after-hours GP services. The hospital previously reviewed heart echo examinations requested via SALT but this has been temporarily changed due to cost-effectiveness and GDPR requirements.
• Zaans Medisch Centrum (ZMC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022The Zaans Medisch Centrum in Zaandam hosts the Huisartsenpost Zaanstreek location, providing facilities for emergency GP care during evening, night, weekend and holidays.
• UMC Utrecht (NetwerkIntake)coreTechnology or IntegrationHZW facilitates access to the NetwerkIntake e-learning program developed by UMC Utrecht. This conversation method helps GPs and POH-GGZ staff engage in broader, recovery-focused discussions with patients about mental health issues, moving beyond DSM classification thinking.
• Parnassia GroepcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParnassia Groep provides mental healthcare services including psychiatrists who hold consultation hours at GP practices in the region. They also offer POH-GGZ services through Indigo and manage the PG referral portal. Parnassia supports HZW with psychiatric consultations and GP training programs.
• Trimbos InstituutcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrimbos provides the RookStop training program for smoking cessation support. HZW offers this training free to healthcare workers in the region, and Trimbos manages accreditation and registration in the KABIZ quality register for stop-smoking coaches.
• Moet ik naar de dokter? (MINDD)coreTechnology or IntegrationMINDD provides the self-triage digital tool used on the Huisartsenpost website and available for integration into GP practice websites. Research indicates 11% reduction in GP emergency post calls possible through use of this tool.
• ZorgDomeincoreTechnology or IntegrationDigital referral platform used for patient referrals from GP practices to specialists and diagnostic services, including heart echo referrals via SALT and direct referrals to Dijklander Hospital.
• Veilig ThuiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational organization for reporting and addressing domestic violence and child abuse. HZW staff (triagists, doctors) are mandated to report concerns and collaborate with Veilig Thuis when signs of unsafe situations are detected.
• SALTminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiagnostic center for heart examinations (echocardiography). Within the Regional Transmurale Afspraak (RTA) Heart Failure, GPs can refer patients to SALT for heart echoes. Currently, examinations are performed at SALT locations in Zaandam or Castricum while Dijklander Hospital reviews the results.
• TopicuscoreTechnology or IntegrationHealthcare IT provider supplying the Topicus HAP system used for patient records, triage, and documentation at the GP emergency posts, integrated with Vcare telephony.
• VcarecoreTechnology or IntegrationTelephony platform provider for GP emergency posts, enabling cross-location call handling, video calling, call recording, and advanced reporting (Vcare Reporter). Replaced previous system in March 2022.
• Universiteit van Amsterdam (AMC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedical faculty providing medical students (coassistenten) for internships at GP practices in the HZW region. GP practices can become certified trainers for these 6-week internships.
• Vrije Universiteit (VU) / Amsterdam UMCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedical faculty providing medical students (coassistenten) for internships at GP practices. The VU offers 9-week internships compared to the UvA's 6-week format.
• DOKhminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare education organization that collaborates with HZW on organizing symposiums such as the annual Elderly Care symposium.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Topicus: Healthcare IT vendor that supplies the Topicus HAP emergency post information system used by HZW. Comparable as a healthcare technology provider serving the same Dutch primary care and emergency care ecosystem, though as a vendor rather than a direct peer organization.
• ZorgDomein: National Dutch healthcare referral platform used by HZW GP practices for specialist and diagnostic referrals. Comparable as a digital infrastructure provider for primary care coordination in the Netherlands, serving overlapping constituents.

Direct peers

• LHV (Landelijke Huisartsen Vereniging): The Dutch national association for general practitioners, representing GP interests at the national level. Highly comparable to HZW because it serves the same constituent base (Dutch GPs) and performs an analogous representative and support role, but at national rather than regional scale.
• InEen: The Dutch association for primary care organizations representing regional primary care groups, GP cooperatives and out-of-hours services. Directly comparable to HZW as the umbrella body of which HZW is structurally a member, performing the same coordination and advocacy function at national level.
• RHO Noord-Holland Noord: Regional primary care organization serving North Holland North, an adjacent region to HZW's Zaanstreek Waterland territory. Provides GP practice support, care coordination and chronic disease management under a comparable cooperative structure, making it a directly relevant geographic peer.
• Cohesie: Regional primary care cooperative in the Drenthe region of the Netherlands supporting GP practices with care coordination, chronic disease programmes and digital tooling. Operates a near-identical cooperative model to HZW in a different Dutch region, making it the most structurally comparable Dutch peer.
• Medicamus: Regional primary care organization serving the Hardenberg area in Overijssel, providing GP support, care coordination and chronic disease management. Highly comparable to HZW as a regional primary care support organization with a similar service portfolio targeting GP practices and their patient populations.

Broad incumbents

• NHG (Nederlands Huisartsen Genootschap): The Dutch scientific association for general practitioners that develops clinical guidelines and standards. Comparable to HZW in serving the same GP constituency, but operating nationally with a broader scientific and standard-setting scope rather than regional coordination.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/huisartsenpostenzaanstreekwaterland
• Instagraminstagram.com/hapzaanstreekwaterland
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hzw-huisartsenzorg-zaanstreek-waterland

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HZW - Huisartsenzorg Zaanstreek Waterland