Marlot Kuiper

17 The challenge of working with checklists debate on patient safety and quality of service delivery. In the aftermath of its publication, standardization of practices was seen as one of the solutions (e.g. Rozich et al., 2004; Wachter, 2004). Standards were introduced throughout the healthcare domain to reduce unwanted variation in care delivery, and to make services more evidence based, safe, and efficient (Timmermans & Berg, 1997, 2003). Nowadays, there are many checklists, algorithms and guidelines that steer professional behaviour. Some scholars even speak of a ‘proliferation’ of standards (Parker & Lawton, 2000; Rycroft-Malone et al., 2008). 1.1 Reforming professional services The attempts to reform care delivery do not stand on their own. They are directly linked to broader trends in which public professional organisations find themselves confronted with various pressures that force them to adapt and improve their services. First of all, service delivery has become more complex. In dealing with compound multifaceted cases, the need for far-reaching specialization goes hand in hand with the need for multidisciplinary action (Meads et al., 2008; Noordegraaf, 2016). Complex multi-problem cases in law for example, increasingly require judges to possess specialized knowledge about both the law and new types of complex cases like cybercrime, and seek collaboration with probation services, ICT specialists and so on. Secondly, new technologies create new possibilities, but also pose new challenges. Technology is rapidly transforming professional work, for example with regard to accessibility and registration of information. ICT technologies enable practitioners to share client information, but this poses challenges for their privacy. ICT also allows for continues monitoring and assessment of practices at an organisation level (Broadbent & Laughlin, 2005; Eriksson-Zetterquist et al., 2009). Thirdly, clients and patients have become more knowledgeable and critical and claim so called ‘co-production’ of treatment. They are becoming ‘customers’ rather than passive recipients (Evetts, 2011; Lachman, 2009). Before visiting the GP, patients already ‘Googled’ their symptoms, and based on the information that is ‘out there’ they have specific requests for their doctor, for example concerning the prescription of antibiotics. 1