Abstract: The need for mental healthcare professionals in the Netherlands is increasing caused by the growth of patient
complexity. The administration burden causes outflow of professionals and therefor they become increasingly scares.
Improvement initiatives are aimed as the intended strategy and starts with (re)-structuring organizations through legislation
and regulations. They entail both experienced and measured administration burden for healthcare professionals working in
Long-Term Care (LTC). However, most studies only provide insight into the current administration burden or the impact of
legislation and regulations on the administration burden from a broad perspective. These insights are useful to LTC managers,
but more in-depth research is needed to implement laws and regulations to reduce the administration burden for LTC
professionals in the future. The Compulsory Mental Healthcare Act (CMHA) was implemented in the Dutch mental healthcare
and replaced the Special Admissions Act in Psychiatric Hospitals (SAAPH) on January 1, 2020. The aim of this study is to
investigate the effect of the legislative transition and to determine the effect on the administration burden of Dutch mental
healthcare professionals. A survey concerning the administration burden for especially psychiatrists before and after the
transition was distributed to an addiction institute with a diversity of different mental healthcare professionals and a
psychiatric institute that has been led by psychiatrists. Also some interviews with the lead professionals where held. The
results show that the administration burden among psychiatrists has increased due to the contact with external healthcare
providers and contact with the patient, family and their loved ones (a consequence of the amendment of the law). This effect
was significant and in line with the results of the interviews. Therefor we conclude that the administration burden has
increased as a result of the legislative amendment.
