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Chief Healthcare at the Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa), Anneke van Vught, has been appointed as Special Professor of Regional Integrated Network Care at Radboud university medical center / Radboud University. She is committed to care organized around the individual, particularly for people with vulnerable health. In this, she sees an important role for nurses.
According to Anneke van Vught, the organization of care must change to remain sustainable in the future. She investigates how care for people with vulnerable health can be organized more around the person and, where possible, at home or nearby. This care often transcends sectors and domains, requiring intensive collaboration among relatives, professionals from the social domain, public health, community nursing, primary care paramedics, general practitioners, nursing home staff, mental health organizations, and medical specialists. Van Vught states: 'I see a central role for nurses, as well as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, as connectors across organizational, sectoral, and domain boundaries—in close cooperation with other professionals, and with relatives.'
Van Vught enjoys acting as a bridge between research, education, policy, and practice. Her career has given her affinity with all these areas: she trained as a nurse, has conducted research on care organization for many years, teaches, and as Chief Healthcare at the NZa, works on national regulations and policies to keep care accessible and affordable. 'There is a wealth of knowledge in all these areas, but these sources are still too often poorly connected. That’s a huge opportunity.'
Preferably at home
Van Vught contributes to developing new care concepts, such as Hospital on Wheels. In this model, medical specialist hospital care is delivered at home by nurse practitioners in close coordination with community nurses and, when needed, social workers, general practitioners, or medical specialists. People who are, for example, immobile or living with dementia no longer need to go to the hospital for specialist care. This benefits patients and their families and improves continuity of care. Van Vught: 'We work not only on designing and evaluating such concepts but also on implementation. For example, we are studying the nationwide rollout of Hospital on Wheels. That involves much more than just a positive evaluation of the concept.'
Interaction between well-being, health, and care
There is growing awareness that care is not always the answer to issues that often end up in the healthcare system—such as problems caused by loneliness, unhealthy lifestyles, major life events, or difficulties with work or housing. A healthcare response to these issues can even negatively impact quality of life. This underscores the importance of addressing help requests and societal challenges more broadly than just from a healthcare perspective. 'We will continue to research this in the coming years. For example, through initiatives like ‘Samenzorg,’ where care professionals and relatives or citizens work closely together, and collective prevention efforts in communities to promote health and well-being.'
According to Van Vught, the role of nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants should grow significantly: 'These professional groups are indispensable but still too invisible in the necessary changes and innovations in care. Yet, with more than 230,000 professionals, they represent a vast source of knowledge, experience, and capacity.'
Career
Anneke van Vught began her career in healthcare at age 15, working in various roles at Pantein Zorggroep and the Maartenskliniek. She studied nursing at HAN University of Applied Sciences, followed by a Master’s in Movement Sciences at Maastricht University. She earned her PhD in 2009 with her dissertation titled ‘Dietary protein in the regulation of the somatotropic axis’, conducting research at Maastricht University and Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark. She also obtained a Master’s in Public Health in Epidemiology.
She later held various positions at HAN University of Applied Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Canisius Wilhelmina Hospital, connecting practice, research, and education. She conducted extensive research on the use of physician assistants and nurse practitioners in various settings in Dutch healthcare, as well as on innovative cross-sector care concepts. For years, she focused on interprofessional learning and improvement in community care, elderly care, and hospitals. Currently, Van Vught is Chief Healthcare at the NZa. Her appointment as Special Professor took effect on January 1, 2026. The appointment is for three years and is financially supported by the NZa.
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