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General Practice Center Goes is among the frontrunners in the Netherlands with digital assistants.In Zeeland, we work hard to keep GP care accessible, personalized, and future-proof. This requires innovative thinking and action. Fortunately, many practices are also taking the lead. Driven by their commitment to their patients and mindful of the growing staff shortage, they are seeking smart solutions to keep healthcare going. A good example is Huisartsen Centrum Goes, the first GP practice in the Netherlands to launch Suus 2.0: a digital assistant that helps patients with frequently asked questions and simple medical advice.
"We've seen an average decrease in the number of calls of approximately 10 to 12.5 percent in recent months."
"We are the largest GP practice in Zeeland," says practice manager Dianne van der Pennen. "With 13,500 to 14,000 patients, we want to continue providing high-quality care, even now that fewer medical assistants are available. That means working smarter. Digitalization plays a major role in this for us and offers opportunities."
The idea for Suus arose when the practice noticed that the phone was often ringing with questions that already had answers on the website. "People were calling with questions like 'When will I get my flu shot?' or 'When can I call for an appointment?'" says Dianne. "Then we thought: how can we better help patients without them having to call?"
Together with digital designer Guido Jongen, the idea was further developed. This led to the creation of Suus, a so-called Digital Human: a virtual assistant with a recognizable and empathetic face, powered by an advanced combination of a chatbot and large language models (LLMs). Visitors to the website can ask Suus simple questions. Suus answers these questions, refers patients to reliable sources like Thuisarts.nl, and works in conjunction with the triage tool "Should I go to the doctor?"
With Suus, patients no longer simply receive dry text messages, but a spoken, friendly, and understandable answer from a familiar face. This makes Suus not only a digital conversation partner but also a recognizable part of the patient journey.
The latest version, Suus 2.0, goes even further. It can now also answer frequently asked medical questions, naturally within secure and predefined frameworks. This makes Suus even more effective in supporting the practice and relieving the burden on doctors and assistants, without compromising on medical safety.
"Patients can now ask questions like 'I have a stomach ache, what should I do?'" explains Dianne. "Suus then helps them navigate the digital healthcare landscape: she provides advice, refers patients to others, or explains where to go."
"The number of times people search for information or ask a question via the website has increased significantly in recent months."
The results are promising. "We've seen an average decrease of approximately 10 to 12.5 percent in the number of phone calls in recent months," says Dianne. "This is due to several (digital) improvements in our practice, but certainly also to Suus's efforts. It's wonderful to see that patients are increasingly finding their way to our digital information. Especially for simple questions like flu shots or opening hours. This saves our assistants time, allowing them to focus on patients who truly need care."
A clear increase is also visible online. "We're seeing that patients are increasingly finding their way to our website," says Dianne. "The number of times people search for information or ask a question via the website has increased significantly in recent months. This demonstrates the great need for accessible, digital information."
Independent patients, future-proof practices
Besides saving time, the practice is also seeing a change in patient behavior. "We want people to be able to do more for themselves," says Dianne. "People with a cold often find sufficient information through Suus or Thuisarts.nl. This makes patients more independent and prevents unnecessary consultations."
According to Dianne, the digital assistant fits perfectly with the future of primary care.
"We'll have fewer staff in the future, but the demand for care continues to grow. With a digital assistant, you can absorb some of that pressure without sacrificing quality. In fact, it actually helps us keep care more personalized, because the team has more time for the more complex cases."
Goes General Practitioners Center hopes more practices will join the development of Suus. "Many questions our patients ask are also answered by other practices," says Dianne. "By working together, we can make Suus increasingly smarter and deploy it more broadly. That's in everyone's interest: patient, assistant, and general practitioner."
The practice is also considering regional opportunities. "We'd like to share this story, not only with healthcare providers but also with residents," says Dianne. "The more people know about Suus, the more they'll use it. That's exactly what we're aiming for: a practice with less phone calls and more convenience, where independent patients and accessible care seamlessly blend."
Suus 2.0 was developed by Goes General Practitioners Center in collaboration with Guido Jongen (Virtually Human). The digital assistant answers frequently asked questions and refers to reliable medical information. Suus is integrated into the practice's website and collaborates with platforms such as Thuisarts.nl and Moet ik naar de dokter (Do I need to go to the doctor).
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