
Regulating Medical Work
Allsop(Author)
Open University Press
Published on 16. November 1996
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-0-335-19404-9 (ISBN)
Description
This book examines the formal and informal regulation of medical work in the British health service. It asks what regulation is for, what systems of rules control medical work and how they are used in practice. Following a general chapter which sets out the principles, theories and concepts associated with regulation, subsequent chapters examine in detail various regulatory forms. Two major issues are explored. First, the book looks at the boundaries between state-sanctioned self regulation and other regulatory systems. Second, it assesses the relationship between formal controls such as regulation and accreditation and informal controls through peer review and social networks.
The thesis of the book is that the web of formal and informal controls over medical work is expanding in a variety of ways. Increased controls are being exercised by government, by the profession itself and by lay people as patients, citizens and complainants. Furthermore, the NHS reforms have brought new managerial controls. In particular, doctors and managers have been encouraged to set standards to guide performance. As a consequence, the boundaries of control over medical knowledge are being redrawn and new alliances are developing between the stakeholders in health care: government, citizens, managers and professionals.
Regulating Medical Work is an accessible, up-to-date text for those working in the NHS, for students of health policy and public administration and for all social scientists interested in medical work. It draws on recent research and provides indicative examples and cases to illustrate points in the text.
The thesis of the book is that the web of formal and informal controls over medical work is expanding in a variety of ways. Increased controls are being exercised by government, by the profession itself and by lay people as patients, citizens and complainants. Furthermore, the NHS reforms have brought new managerial controls. In particular, doctors and managers have been encouraged to set standards to guide performance. As a consequence, the boundaries of control over medical knowledge are being redrawn and new alliances are developing between the stakeholders in health care: government, citizens, managers and professionals.
Regulating Medical Work is an accessible, up-to-date text for those working in the NHS, for students of health policy and public administration and for all social scientists interested in medical work. It draws on recent research and provides indicative examples and cases to illustrate points in the text.
Reviews / Votes
"Essential reading, or even browsing, for clinical directors, and any professional willing to consider that improvement can be made." - British Journal of Health Care Management "Read Regulating Medical Work for additional clarification, for deepening the discussion of regulation, and as a prod to move beyond the cosmetic." - BMJ "An excellent resource from which to draw for analysis, teaching and research." - Social Legal Studies "...a well-rounded, thorough exploration of the complexities of control...the true value of this booklies in its contribution to our understanding of public institutions,of decision-making, discretion and control, to the concept of 'policing', to the radiating effect of law, even to the concept of law itself." - Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law "...essential reading for anyone wanting to know about the reality ofmedical work in the NHS." - Journal of Nursing ManagementMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Milton Keynes
United Kingdom
Illustrations
bibliography, index
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
410 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-335-19404-9 (9780335194049)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Judith Allsop is Professor of Health Policy at South Bank University. She has researched and written a number of books and articles on aspects of health policy. These include Health Policy and the NHS and its sequel Health Policy and the NHS: towards 2000. She has also researched user issues in healthcare and particularly complaint behaviour. She has been variously, a Chair of a Family Practitioner Committee; vice chair of a District Health Authority and member of a Special Health Authority. She was a member of the Wilson committee which reviewed NHS complaint systems and was a member of the Citizen's Charter Unit Complaints Task Force.Linda Mulcahy is the Lawford Reader in Public Law at the University of North London. She has researched and published on disputing behaviour and complaints in a health care setting. Recently, she has conducted a two-year study of the impact of complaints on consultants in one region and a study of dissatisfaction for the Wilson Committee. She is currently evaluating a Department of Health pilot mediation scheme for medical negligence cases.
Content
Introduction
Systems of rules and their uses
Watchdogs in the NHS
The role of the Health Service Commissioner
The role of the General Medical Council
Voluntary self-regulation
Changes in NHS management
the new rules
The lay voice
patients and doctors
Regulation and the Medical Negligence action
Complaints and regulation
The expanding web of regulation
Bibliography
Index.
Systems of rules and their uses
Watchdogs in the NHS
The role of the Health Service Commissioner
The role of the General Medical Council
Voluntary self-regulation
Changes in NHS management
the new rules
The lay voice
patients and doctors
Regulation and the Medical Negligence action
Complaints and regulation
The expanding web of regulation
Bibliography
Index.