How effective is current regulation of healthcare practitioners, and can it be used to improve the quality of care?
A new study exploring regulation and its unintended consequences on healthcare practitioners has sounded the alarm bells for Dr Michael Fischer, Senior Research Fellow in Organisational Behaviour and Leadership at the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Workplace Leadership.
Dr Fischer was one of six academics who led the research project, “Exploring and explaining the dynamics of osteopathic regulation, professionalism and compliance with standards in practice”, and sees a direct link between the studies conducted in the United Kingdom, and how the results can be applied in Australia, particularly in the wake of four sudden deaths in January this year of three young trainee psychiatrists and a medical intern in Victoria.
The aim of the research into osteopathy regulation was to explore ways to develop regulation that was not only more effective in implementation, but would also positively influence how osteopaths actually practice.