ABSTRACT
Introduction The American political scientist Ted Marmor, of Yale University, opines that 'what is regular, is not stupid'. Healthcare markets throughout the world are never free of private and government regulation. The processes by which doctors and other healthcare workers are trained and employed are regulated by private profes sional bodies and public agencies to ensure 'fitness to practice'. Pharmaceutical markets are regulated by patents, safety controls in the production processes and the regulation of consumer access by restricted prescribing. Hospitals are regu lated to ensure some, often limited, consumer protection, and funders, whether private insurers or governments, have their freedom constrained by rules to ensure probity and financial prudence. The ubiquitous nature of regulation in healthcare markets reflects rational responses to common problems.
