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Review
. 2020 Oct 20;18(1):72.
doi: 10.1186/s12960-020-00501-y.

Health professional regulation in historical context: Canada, the USA and the UK (19th century to present)

Tracey L Adams  1
Affiliations
Review

Health professional regulation in historical context: Canada, the USA and the UK (19th century to present)

Tracey L Adams. Hum Resour Health. .

Abstract

Background: There is no widespread agreement over what form healthcare professional regulation should take, and the evidence base concerning the effectiveness and fairness of regulatory systems and practices is limited. Those urging policy change argue there is a need to modernize; however, there is much we can learn from reviewing the history of healthcare professional regulation.

Main body: An overview of the history of regulation in Canada, with consideration of the United States of America and the United Kingdom, is provided. Self-regulating professions emerged in the nineteenth century, influenced by a variety of stakeholders responding to local concerns for healthcare quality, access and professional training. Regulatory practices changed over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries in response to changing stakeholders and shifting interests.

Conclusions: Reviewing the history of healthcare professional regulation reveals lessons to inform policy in a range of settings.

Keywords: Canada; Healthcare professional regulation; History; UK; US.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author declares that she has no competing interests.

References

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    1. Converge3. Toward a more efficient and effective regulatory college system. Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto. 2019. https://converge3.ca/publication/guidance-synopsis-toward-more-efficient....
    1. Ho B, Tepper J, Hinds R. Is it time to implement one national license for Canadian doctors? Healthy Debate. 2020; https://healthydebate.ca/2020/03/topic/is-it-time-to-implement-one-natio....
    1. Adams TL. Regulating professions. Toronto: University of Toronto Press; 2018.
    1. Adams TL. Self-regulating professions: past, present and future. J Prof Organ. 2017;4(1):70-87. Available from. 10.1093/jpo/jow004.

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