ABSTRACT
The regulation of the health professions, particularly that of doctors, is one of the longest established mechanisms for protecting patients and the public against medical errors and for assuring and improving patient safety. This chapter concerns the development of these regulatory arrangements, and explores a number of areas of particular change. It starts by setting the context with a brief account of the history and evolution of health professions regulation in an international context. The chapter examines four major current trends or themes in health professions regulation: the relationship between society, government and the professions, the growth of health professions regulation, the internationalisation of health professions regulation, and the pressures of labour and skill-mix reform on health professions regulation. It offers a case study of the dynamics of health professions regulatory reform, based on the recent experience of the United Kingdom.
