Abstract
The aim of this study was to identify the role of podiatry in diabetic foot care in the Netherlands. All 122 hospitals in the Netherlands were asked to fill out a questionnaire. The questions addressed the presence of a podiatrist, the method of financial reimbursement for their services, the existence and arrangement of a specialised foot team and a functioning foot clinic for diabetic patients.
On 1 January 1995 there was a podiatrist specifically for the care of diabetes patients working in 39 (32%) out of the total 122 hospitals in the Netherlands. A specialised diabetic foot clinic, with a podiatrist working next to an internist for more than two hours a week, was present in 20 hospitals (16%). When the present data were compared with an earlier study, the presence of a specialised foot clinic or podiatrist did not affect the relative risk of diabetesβrelated lower extremity amputation.
It was concluded that diabetic foot care in the Netherlands remains inadequate, most likely resulting in hospitalisations, amputations and personal grief, which might be preventable if another policy were applied.