Synopses & Reviews
Medical sociology has traditionally been focused on the governance of “troublesome” social groups, including the unwell, the deviant, and the criminally insane. But recently the discipline has also begun to explore how the state ensures the public is protected from acts of medical malpractice, negligence, and criminality. Against the background of a series of high-profile scandals—including the case of Dr. Harold Shipman, who murdered over two hundred of his patients—this topical and authoritative book examines how the regulation of doctors has been modernized by the introduction of a quality assurance process tied to medical relicensing. In examining the history and current use of this process, John Martyn Chamberlain questions the validity of the claim that revalidation serves the public interest by ensuring individual doctors are fit to practice. Highlighting areas of good practice and areas for further research and development, this book will be required reading for scholars of medical sociology, medical education, health policy, and related subjects.
Synopsis
Medical sociology has long been concerned with the role played by specialist forms of expertise in enabling the governance of 'troublesome' social groups - including those who are unwell, 'deviant' and criminally insane. However, only recently has it begun to explore how the state ensures the public is protected from acts of medical malpractice, negligence and criminality. Against the background of a series of high-profile scandals, including the case of Dr Harold Shipman who murdered over 200 of his patients, this topical and authoritative book examines how the regulation of doctors has been modernised by reforms to the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service and the introduction of the quality assurance process of medical revalidation. In doing so, it questions whether there is evidence to support the argument that revalidation serves the public interest by ensuring that individual doctors are fit to practise. Highlighting areas of good practice and areas for further research and development, the book is ideal for academics and postgraduates interested in medical sociology, socio-legal studies, medical law, medical education, health policy and related subjects
About the Author
John Martyn Chamberlain is director of the Criminology Programme at Loughborough University. Among his many books are The Sociology of Medical Regulation: An Introduction and, most recently, Criminological Theory in Context: An Introduction.
Table of Contents
Governing Medicine: From Gentleman’s Clubs to Risk-based Regulation
Fitness to Practice in the Workplace: Medical Revalidation
Fitness to Practice Panels: The Medical Practitioner Tribunal Service
Regulating for the Safer Doctor in the Risk Society: The Process is the Punishment...?