The Influence of Managerialism on Medical Professionalism: Challenges, Risks and Future Directions

Over recent decades, the medical profession has undergone significant changes due to the influence of managerialism, which is characterised by standardisation, efficiency and cost control. Although these principles aim to improve sustainability and transparency within healthcare systems, they often conflict with fundamental aspects of medical professionalism and patient-centred care. This perspective explores how managerialism may negatively affect the medical profession, focussing on its impact on clinician autonomy, the changing nature of medical work, professional identity and collegial relationships within hospital settings. Key challenges faced by doctors include diminishing control over patient care, growing administrative burden, increasing burn-out, erosion of professional values and identity, and fragmentation of collegiality. To address these issues, this perspective advocates for institutional change such as hybrid governance models that integrate professional and managerial expertise to ensure managerial goals remain aligned with clinical realities. Professional bodies and institutions should empower doctors with managerial and leadership competencies to influence organisational change, reconcile clinical and managerial priorities, and uphold professional values and quality patient care within the evolving healthcare landscape. Effective reform requires the considerate integration of managerial systems into healthcare to strengthen, rather than undermine, the professional foundations and ethical values that give medicine its integrity and meaning.