Integrating medical specialists and hospitals. The growing relevance of collective organisation of medical specialists for Dutch hospital governance.

The policy of the Dutch government (now enshrined in legislation) aims at the integration of medical specialists in hospitals and seeks to end the economic and organisational autonomy of the medical specialist. This article suggests that this policy has also acted as an incentive for medical specialists to develop local strategies that often diverge. Medical specialists are pursuing strategies that aim to strengthen their collective power within the hospital organisation while at the same time consolidating their entrepreneurial status. Medical staff governance has consequently become a key factor in hospital governance.