Prof.dr. Kim Putters (1973) is Professor of Health Management at the institute of Health Policy and Management of the Erasmus University Rotterdam. As a public administration scientist he is part of the Healthcare Governance department. He wrote his PhD on the reforms in Dutch healthcare towards more entrepreneurship in health management (Geboeid ondernemen: een studie naar het management in de Nederlandse ziekenhuiszorg,Van Gorcum, Assen, 2001). Putters was worked at the department of Public Administration within the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Erasmus University until 2003, and at the Tilburg School of Politics and Administration at the Tilburg University until 2008. From 1997 until 2003 he also worked as an advisor to the Ministry of Health at the Council for Health and Social Service (de Raad voor de Volksgezondheid en Zorg).
Research

Two methods are central in the research of professor Kim Putters:

• A multidisciplinary approach of health management and its behavior in between market, government, professional domains and civil society.
• An intersectoral orientation on the causes and consequences of blurring boundaries between health and other sectors and networks (amongst which are housing, mobility and welfare).

The research issues are:

• Hybrid organisations within a public-private and professional context. Healthcare institutions have to respond to incentives of the market, government policies, professional demands and societal needs all at the same time. Changing markets, increasing needs and new technological possibilities ask for studies how this works and can be improved.
• Entrepreneurship and innovation can improve healthcare services in terms of efficiency, quality and patient centeredness. Yet, several barriers hinder innovation. We study how innovations are being developed and spread, what chances and limitations look like and how this influences the roles and responsibilities of suppliers, providers, financers, patients, doctors and governmental bodies.
• Relationship between research, knowledge, policy and practice. How can professional and policy practices be improved by science and knowledge? How do new ways of quality management, patient empowerment and transparency improvement work out in practice? And how can we bring science and practice closer to each other in health management.