The causes of the increasing pressure within the Dutch Acute Care are sometimes difficult to interpret. The number of patients seen at Emergency Departments (EDs) has been relatively stable at around 2.1 million patients annually. More people are working in acute care than ever before, and staff are deployed more efficiently through task redistribution and far-reaching specialization. Furthermore, almost every patient is triaged with increasingly validated tools; however, these same tools seem to be becoming more defensive. We are monitoring patients at home more and more, yet they are also coming to the ED more than ever. Finally, available pressure gauges show a difference between experienced pressure (which is rising) and measured pressure (which is stable).

We will delve into these apparent contradictions with experts; is innovation a blessing or a curse? Are the goals of innovation misguided? Should the focus be on costs and staffing instead of quality? Or should we precisely be focusing on improving humanity in care rather than just technological innovation?