‘If I want different disciplines to watch along, Prisma is very suitable’

‘In our practice we have been working digitally a lot from the beginning,’ says Marlène. ​‘For example, here in Zoetermeer there is very good digital communication with the general practitioners’ clinic. All our patients’ files can be viewed, so the GPs over there are also up to date on the medication use and medical history of people in the area.’

I am an enthusiastic co-reader

“Recently, I also started working with Prisma. Especially during the time when I was ill myself, I found it a very nice distraction to be able to read along. It’s fun but also very instructive. Now I also try to convince my colleagues how much fun it is. I encourage my husband, a specialist at the hospital, to join in as a specialist, because that too seems like a lot of fun! Specialists at Prisma are enthusiastic knowledge sharers. Just the thing for him, I think!

Relaxed and educational

I especially enjoy reading along on Prisma,” says Marlène. When I’m lying in bed at night, I scroll through Prisma to see which new cases have been posted. Sometimes there are also cases about palliative care. There are then several specialists who think about it. I like these complicated cases and am an SCEN doctor myself. How can you, navigating between all these conditions, properly guide a patient to the final stage? I find that very interesting.

Getting several disciplines to think along

‘If I want to ask a question about a straightforward case myself, I often use the follow-along consultation via Zorgdomein. But sometimes a case doesn’t fit so well there. For example, if I would like several specialists from different disciplines to take a look, Prisma is very suitable.’

‘For example, I recently posted a case about a patient of mine who, according to his own account, was suffering from Postorgasmic illness syndrome. I had never heard of it before, but this gentleman had done the necessary research himself. I didn’t know where to refer him.’ 

‘At Prisma, I was helped well. Multiple opinions and different insights resonate in the answers, because especially in such a rare case, medicine is far from always black and white,’ says Marlène.

Accessible

‘Actually, I myself have only posted one case on Prisma so far, because I sometimes find the idea that everyone can read along a bit complicated. Other GPs also see my question. As a result, I have some trepidation, but that’s more down to me personally than to Prisma. It just takes some getting used to.

‘It does not alter the fact that I enjoy reading along and that I can also see from the answers and the atmosphere it creates on Prisma that the platform is certainly accessible and all questions can be asked. It also just has to get into my system a little bit: the possibility of also using Prisma to seek advice.

The added value of Prisma

‘As a GP, you are the first safety net in health care. And even with my 25 years of experience as a GP, I still come across things I don’t know what they are,’ Marlène says. ​‘By reading along on Prisma, for example, I’ve become much more aware of the importance of checking the ferritin level in the blood in case of fatigue. Not only an Hb within the normal values is important then. A significant drop in the Hb within the normal range or too low a ferritin can also cause a patient to feel fatigue.’

‘Prisma feels low-threshold to me; I can watch and I learn something from it. GPs need to know so much more these days. After all, more and more care is provided within the practice. More and more chronic diseases are being treated from the general practice, and even a piece of mental health care is now offered from the primary care setting. The likelihood of running into an issue is increasing, so it’s very nice to have several people thinking with you.’

Prisma is currently only available for GPs, specialists and RGPOs that are based in the Netherlands.