[Centenary of the Health Council of the Netherlands. III. Hospital care and research]

In 1983 a ministerial decree based on Section 18 of the Hospital Provisions Act came into force, under which a number of top clinical centres could only give certain specialised care if they obtained a permit from the minister of Health, Welfare and Sport. Following the Health Council's report 'The Limits of Care' published in 1986, the government instructed the Health Council in 1989 to develop a policy for regularly reporting the status of certain section-18-activities and to put forward proposals for investigative medical research. This led to the Health Council's so-called annual reports, which have played a pivotal role in the balanced introduction and dissemination of special provisions. In 1995 the Health Council stopped issuing its annual report due to the ambiguity which arose concerning the implementation of a number of proposals it had made. In 1997 all top clinical activities were made subject to section 2 of the Specific Medical Procedures Act. This meant that there was no longer a statutory obligation to advise the government. However, under the Specific Medical Procedures Act, the Health Council has been able to continue its important advisory role. For example, the Health Council's advice was taken into consideration when the practice of in-vitro fertilisation was evaluated and during the drafting of the Embryo Act.