Doctors are increasingly unhappy in a changing world.1 Although the reasons for this are broad and far reaching,2 some of this discontent results from the doctor-management interface.3 The rejection of the new NHS consultant contract in England and Wales seemed to crystallise this discontent, hinging as it did on issues of professional autonomy and a lack of trust.4 But such a crisis should not be seen in isolation. We can better understand the current predicament by, firstly, reviewing the history of the doctor-manager relationship in the United Kingdom over recent decades, and in particular seeing this relationship as shaped by the changing structural arrangements from within which health care is delivered. Secondly, such changes are in turn part of an international phenomenon, related in particular to perceived crises of healthcare funding and consequent attempts to improve efficiency.

This overview aims to summarise each of these elements. We draw on a recent review of international developments,5 pre-existing reviews charting changes in the doctor-manager relationship in the NHS 6^–8, and a range of more recent empirical studies.9^–14