ABSTRACT
The patient has been the missing person in regulatory debates as the health care safety movement paradoxically has paid little attention to the patient's perspective. This chapter analyses the processes through which individual patients can have a say over their own health care and reviews the evidence on the impact of consumer/citizen participation. Under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law 2009, a national register for each of the health professions will be set up that offers the public access to information on practitioners including their qualifications and any restrictions or conditions placed on practice by a board or tribunal. The UK Care Quality Commission, for example, conducts regular surveys of consumer experiences and uses the results to assess NHS performance as well as in regulatory activities such as registration, monitoring ongoing compliance and reviews of organizations.
