Foundations of the Regulation of Healthcare Professionals, Volume 1

Marc Seale, MSc 1977

Foundations of the Regulation of Healthcare Professionals is the first of a four-book series, titled Principles and Processes for Regulating Healthcare Professionals. The book lays the groundwork for those exploring the regulation of healthcare professionals and is essential reading for anyone navigating the regulatory landscape.

Chapter one introduces regulation and regulators and the processes they use. It addresses why society wants its regulators to be effective, efficient and ethical and at the same time, independent and accountable. It concludes by overviewing the healthcare delivery system and its regulators. Since it is almost impossible to explore the subject of regulation without encountering the issue of risk. This is because regulation and risk are almost inseparable and it is not possible to consider one, without fully comprehending the other and the relationship between the two. A thorough understanding of risk is therefore paramount if one is aiming to achieve a mastery of regulation.

Chapter two seeks to achieve this by looking at enterprise risk management, risk of harm and risked based regulation. The next chapter constructs a framework for the regulation of healthcare professionals, before identifying the stakeholders that regulators must engage with. How professionals are identified and the processes used to restrict access to the labour market are then tackled.

Chapters four and five look at standards and guidance. Chapter six, safe & effective practice, addresses a series of intertwined topics. It begins with safe & effective practice. Competence, in terms of knowledge & skills, is put under the microscope before scopes of practice and standards of competence are scrutinized. The implications of the perishability of competences and how the levels of competences are distribution within a profession then follow. The chapter then uses a values and behaviours framework and in turn dissects ethical healthcare relating to healthcare professionals. It finishes by looking at the values and behaviours of healthcare professionals and their incorporation into the standards of conduct.

The penultimate chapter, regulating healthcare professionals, is about the advantages & disadvantages of their regulation. It also introduces the concept of the regulatory contract. The purpose and objectives of regulating healthcare professionals are then unpicked. The book concludes by proving the basis of the legal principes and process for regulating healthcare professionals, topics of great importance particularly for those who are not members of the legal professions.

ISBN: 978-1-394-33352-3