title: The political context of health service regulation.
abstract: Can regulation work in health services, given the present political context? General issues in the regulatory process are discussed, followed by a consideration of the relevance of these issues to the health care field. Regulatory processes are reviewed for the United States in four areas: credentialling of people, surveillance of delivery systems, quality of materials and technology, and rate-setting or cost control. It is concluded that the process cannot work. Four alternatives are presented and briefly evaluated: tinkering, centralized regulation, national health service, and general nationalization of most major economic sectors.
mesh_terms: D000068:Accreditation; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D005544:Forecasting; D006296:Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D007878:Legislation as Topic; D008004:Licensure; D009934:Organization and Administration; D011057:Politics; D012926:Social Control, Formal; D012950:Socialism; D013672:Technology; D014481:United States; D014483:United States Dept. of Health and Human Services; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration