Soc Sci Med. 1999 Feb; 48(3): 343-51.

The medical profession and alternative medicine in The Netherlands: its history and recent developments.

Schepers RM, Hermans HE.

Department of Health Policy and Management, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. schepers@smw.bmg.eur.nl

At the end of 1993, the Dutch parliament passed the Individual Health Care Professions Bill which replaced existing legislation. The new Act brings to an end the monopoly of the Dutch medical profession. The former prohibition on alternative practitioners to practice medicine was abolished. This article addresses the question of whether the Act affects the position of medical dominance in Dutch health care. It will be argued that the new Act preserves the present position of medical dominance to a large extent. Although alternative therapies have gained greater social recognition, there is little indication that the cultural and social authority of medicine is yet being challenged in the Netherlands. However, it could be argued that the Dutch health care system is moving in a more pluralistic direction.