---
title: "AI assistant for GP practices"
description: "A standard Dutch GP practice has 1.33 FTE of assistants and peaks between eight and ten. An AI employee absorbs repeat prescriptions and results queries."
url: https://vanborg.com/en/sectors/huisartsen
locale: en
type: page
updated: 2026-08-28
author: "Nicolaas Sterenborg"
---

# An AI assistant for a GP practice

A GP practice's phone peaks between eight and ten in the morning, exactly when the assistant is also at the desk. An AI employee absorbs the calls in that window that need no triage: repeat prescriptions, asking for results, moving appointments, opening hours. Anything that does need triage goes straight to the assistant. That leaves human time for the conversations it was meant for.

## The figures

| What | How much | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| In the Netherlands | ±4,850 practices | Nivel, Cijfers uit de huisartsenregistratie |
| What this work costs today | ±€2,850 per month | Indeed Salarissen Nederland 2026 |
| Assistants per standard practice | 1.33 FTE per 2,095 patients | LHV, Praktijkvoering en normpraktijk |

## The morning peak is structural, not an incident

Between eight and ten most of the day's volume arrives. That cannot be solved by working harder: it is one line, one assistant, and a queue that is five deep by half past eight. The accessibility standard still hit 87 percent within two minutes in 2023, but that figure hides the fact that outside the peak it almost always goes well and inside the peak it almost never does. An AI employee handling the non-urgent half of those calls on its own shortens the queue without hiring a second assistant.

## Triage stays human, and that is not a concession

We do not build triage. The Dutch triage guideline exists because telling U1 from U4 is human work and the cost of getting it wrong is high. What the agent does is open the conversation, ask what it is about and, on the basis of trigger words agreed with the practice in advance, transfer straight to the assistant. Anything touching symptoms, pain or acute situations goes through without the agent saying a word about it. What remains is administrative, and that is the volume that matters.

## Repeat prescriptions and results: the dullest volume

A large share of the morning calls is about two things: is my repeat prescription ready, and is my result in. Those are status questions, not care questions. With a connection to the practice system or the prescription line the agent can handle the first on its own; for the second it queues the question for the assistant with patient number and date attached, so it is one click instead of a round of call-backs. In practices where we do this, a quarter to a third of peak call volume disappears.

## What an AI employee takes over here

- **Phone Agent** — Absorbs the morning peak and passes anything needing triage straight to the assistant.
- **Reminder agent** — Reminds patients about check-ups, flu jabs and deferred appointments without anyone working a list.
- **ChatAgent** — Answers on the site and on WhatsApp the questions that would otherwise join the morning peak.

## Where we would start

- **AI receptionist** — €795 setup + €495/mo: The entire front of your business in one rental: the phone is answered 24/7, the chat on your website answers questions and on WhatsApp the same agent picks up the conversation. It knows your rates and service area, records every enquiry's name, number and question, books appointments straight into your calendar and transfers urgent calls immediately. Miss a call yourself and the caller gets a message within a minute.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does the agent do triage?

No, deliberately not. Anything leaning towards symptoms or urgency goes straight to the assistant, without the agent voicing any assessment. The trigger words it transfers on we agree with the practice before we build, and you can change them at any time.

### What happens outside opening hours?

It refers to the out-of-hours service and the emergency number, exactly like the recorded message you have now, only as a conversation. Anyone with a non-urgent question can still ask it: the agent notes it and queues it for the next morning, so the practice starts at eight with a handled list instead of a full voicemail.

## Sources

- [Nivel, Cijfers uit de huisartsenregistratie](https://www.nivel.nl)
- [LHV, Praktijkvoering en normpraktijk](https://www.lhv.nl)
- [Indeed Salarissen Nederland 2026](https://nl.indeed.com/career/salarissen)

## See also

- [Physiotherapy](https://vanborg.com/en/sectors/fysiotherapie)
- [Dental practices](https://vanborg.com/en/sectors/tandartsen)
- [Veterinary practices](https://vanborg.com/en/sectors/dierenartsen)