ABSTRACT
Since the early 1980s, the quality of care and welfare provision has become an important “issue” in the Netherlands, mostly for reasons similar to those in other countries. On the one hand, good care is regarded as very important in Dutch society. It is highly valued. On the other hand, health care provision constitutes a major category of expenditure in the gross national income. One of the reasons behind quality control and quality improvement pertains to the “value-for-money” argument. Another reason has to do with increasing competition in the health-care field, which gives incentives to lower prices and ensures higher levels of quality. Those receiving care set their own requirements as to provision. They want care and assistance to be client-oriented and tailor-made.
