Right Touch Regulation and a Preliminary Competence Inquiry

ABSTRACT Responsibility for assuring competence of practitioners has shifted in many countries over the last 25 years, from professional self-regulation to regulation by the state. This has occurred because of the demonstrable failure of self-regulation, with the conclusions played out in the public arena. Balancing the interests of the profession with those of the state becomes important with “right touch regulation” becoming a useful guide. This paper discusses the role of an investigative interview, the Preliminary Competence Inquiry (PCI), when there are concerns over the competence of a physician. Data from 43 PCIs requested between 2011 and 2017 were collected and analyzed. Of the completed PCIs, the outcome in 76% of cases was either to take no further action or to initiate low-level remediation. Of the remainder, an in-depth assessment of competency was undertaken. Avoiding unnecessary assessments is a goal of right touch regulation as it is expensive, resource intensive and stressful for the prac...