The Dutch Institute of Allied Health Care (Nederlands Paramedisch Instituut, NPi)
CEO: Tinus (M.W.A.) Jongert MSc
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The Dutch Institute of Allied Health Care is the national expertise centre of allied health care in The Netherlands.

Core business
Quality improvement and quality assessment of allied health care*, especially physiotherapists, exercise therapists, and occupational therapists.

Main activities
Research & Innovation, Postgraduate Education & Training (take a look at our English courses), and Scientific Information Services.



Research & Innovation
Manager: Dorine (C.D.) van Ravensberg PhD
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Research & Innovation activities focus at four topics:

1. Classification and Patient Documentation Systems for allied health professions. Since 1989 the institute is a very active party in the development and implementation of the WHO International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF, until 2000 the ICIDH), and other classifications and in developing patient documentation systems for practically all allied health professions.
2. Guidelines development and implementation
   Since 1994 the NPi has worked at the development of 35 guidelines/standards/protocols on physiotherapy, manual therapy, occupational therapy, exercise therapy, podiatry, oral hygiene and dietetics.
3. Quality improvement (incl. measurement instruments)
   This programme dates from 1987. The ca. 100 executed projects to enhance quality of care concern (patients) groups such as the elderly (living at home, living in nursing homes), children, female immigrants with chronic pain, the mentally retarded; rehabilitation of patients with hand burns; patients with peripheral facial paralysis; whiplash patients; patients with posttraumatic dystrophy, et cetera.
4. Interdisciplinary collaboration, such as the consultation of physiotherapists by general practitioners as a contribution to the diagnostic process of physicians; collaboration of physiotherapists and exercise therapists with general practitioners.

The results of all projects are published, and form input for the Postgraduate Education & Training Programme of the NPi.


Postgraduate Education & Training
Manager: Harm E. Askes
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The Postgraduate Education & Training Programme consists of around 200 different courses, training activities and symposia. In 2005 a total of 4000 allied health professionals registered as participants. The NPi is the largest organisation offering courses to these professionals. Virtually all activities are accredited. Postgraduate education is organized in close cooperation with university medical and other lecturers. Each year new courses are developed on subjects related to the actual needs of professionals and developments in health care. The courses offer education on different patient categories and on impairments & disabilities, on means & methods of interventions, and on the art of science. In organizing courses care is taken that the guidelines and standards newly authorized by the chartered societies of the different professions are adopted, to further the implementation of evidence based practice.

Scientic Information Services
Manager: Frans de Meijer
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The scientific information services of the NPi started in 1986, since allied health care literature was not systematically indexed in Europe nor anywhere else, so could not easily be retrieved. Recently this situation has improved, but the information services of the NPi are still unique. They include search expertise by information specialists, evidence based practise updates ('NPi-service'), and a large number of reference databases with literature references, guidelines/standards/protocols, measurement instruments, research data, assistive devices, and evidence based practice information.


Organisation
The number of employees is about 25. Professions include, among others, movements scientists, social scientists, epidemiologists, physicians, physiotherapists, educational specialists and information specialists.


The Dutch Institute of Allied Health Care is located in Amersfoort, in the centre of The Netherlands, south east of Amsterdam (30 minutes by train).

Address
Nederlands Paramedisch Instituut (NPi)
Post Office Box 1161, 3800 BD AMERSFOORT, The Netherlands
Visiting address: Amsterdamseweg 16, 3812 RS AMERSFOORT, The Netherlands
Tel. + 31 33 421 61 00
Fax + 31 33 421 61 91
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Internet: www.paramedisch.org

Google Maps

* Allied health care is provided by the allied health professions, which in The Netherlands include dieticians, physiotherapists & exercise therapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, orthoptists and optometrists, radiographers, podiatrists, oral hygienists, skin therapists. In total they amount to 38.000 professionals.