Abstract

The health sector traditionally has relied upon health professionals and their professional bodies to regulate clinical performance. Realisation has dawned in the last few years, however, that health care is a ‘risky business’ and that health providers should be more accountable: 10% of patients experience medical error in hospitals, and public inquiries typically uncover regulatory failings among managers and professional bodies. This talk outlines the ‘mapping’ stage of an ARC Linkages study on the regulatory actors and strategies concerned to produce safer and better health care for Australian patients. The complex and fragmented Australian health sector exhibits ‘de-centred’ regulation since no one regulatory body acting alone has sufficient power or knowledge to bring about change. There are signs, however, that reliance upon ‘soft’ regulatory strategies is being complemented by ‘harder’ forms of regulation, such as monitoring and mandatory standards, in the context of an ongoing debate on the need for stronger meta-regulation.