Since 2009 we have proudly used Zorgkaart Nederland to collect and share patients' experiences. These reviews were valuable to us because they showed what went well and where we could improve, and because they gave new patients confidence.
Nevertheless, we have decided to stop actively collecting reviews through Zorgkaart Nederland as of October 2025.
1. Rising costs for small clinics
What was once a freely accessible platform has become increasingly expensive in recent years. For our clinic, it would mean paying about fifty euros extra per treatment to continue collecting reviews. We do not want to and cannot pass this amount on to patients, because that would affect the accessibility of our care.
2. Changes in Zorgkaart Nederland's policy
From 15 September 2025, unverified ratings are no longer accepted and reviews older than four years disappear. Only reviews submitted through a verified route remain visible. Although this is intended to increase reliability, it also removes the low-threshold character that made the platform so strong for years.
3. Criticism and doubts about reliability
The reliability of the platform itself has been under pressure for some time. Criticism has increasingly been voiced about the way reviews come about. Various studies show that it is possible to influence reviews through external parties.
Medical organisations such as the Federatie Medisch Specialisten (Federation of Medical Specialists) and the KNMG have also ended their participation in the advisory board. They have doubts about the verifiability of reviews and their impact on healthcare providers. These developments also played a role in our reconsideration of our participation.
4. Our focus on quality and simplicity
Our aim has always been to give patients honest and clear information about our care. Feedback helps to safeguard quality and improve it further. That is why we are switching to a system that is more reliable and easier to manage.
This way we can decide for ourselves how we collect reviews and ensure that they come about in a fair and transparent way, without unnecessarily high costs.
What this means for patients
For patients, little changes. All existing Zorgkaart reviews remain visible on our website. In future we will send invitations to patients ourselves, so they can share their experience directly with us. The link to Trustpilot remains active and will become an important channel for new reviews. Patients can also share their experience via Google Reviews, just as many people are already used to doing with other businesses and healthcare providers.
We think it is important that patients can decide for themselves how visible they want to be. On Google Reviews, the name linked to the Google account is shown automatically. This name cannot be changed per review. If you would rather not leave a review under your full name, you can change this beforehand in your own Google profile, for example to an initial or a pseudonym.
On Trustpilot this is simpler. There, patients can choose directly which name is shown when they post a review. That lowers the threshold for people who would rather remain anonymous or want to protect their privacy. In our invitations we explain this briefly and clearly, so patients can choose what feels comfortable for them.
In this way we keep the strength of honest patient feedback and give patients the freedom to leave a review in their own way.
