Acquisitiveness, match, network: The professional logic of the organization of care

Cooperation in medicine, as in any group activity, is a key problem both for the persons involved and for sociologists. Classical studies in the sociology of health and medicine are of little help in conceptualizing this problem. While arguing against the idea that the affiliation with an institutional configuration-such as a professional segment or a specialty - determines relations between persons, this analysis seeks to move beyond the mere description of what is presented as being purely contingent. To understand phenomena related to cooperation and conflict, it is possible and worthwhile to distinguish among professionals as a function of their position in the therapeutic chain and their form of involvement in the strategy of care. Cooperation is based, in particular, on the match between "acquisitive" professionals who feel that it is their duty to follow up on a patient throughout the healing process and other professionals who see their intervention as being limited to one phase in the therapeutic itinerary. (C) 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.