Reimagining healthcare regulation to enable improvement, learning, and safety (BMJ, 31 March 2026)

Summary

Healthcare regulation refers to the formal oversight of healthcare practices and organisations through standards, monitoring, and accountability mechanisms. Although often operating in the background, regulation shapes how care is organised, delivered, and accounted for.

In this BMJ article, Josje Kok and colleagues argue that amid growing pressures on health systems, healthcare regulation must evolve beyond compliance driven approaches.