Connecting Medical Regulators Around the World

This webinar will take place on April 20, 2021 at 20:00 UTC (3:00 pm U.S. Central Time).  It may be helpful for you to reference the Time and Date website to check your local time for this event; if you do not see your city listed, try clicking on the link for your continental region listed just above the city list. The duration of the webinar is 1 hour.

Be kinder? The challenge of humanizing medical regulation in a post- COVID world

Medical regulation rightly has patient and public protection at the heart of its work.  However, we also know that regulation can have a devastating impact on the stress, health and well-being of doctors, particularly when they are under investigation. This is undoubtedly exacerbated by COVID-19 and lockdowns that have had a huge impact on the mental health of doctors and the community more widely. This webinar will explore work underway to humanize medical regulation. What have doctors under investigation told us about the experience? What does humane regulation mean? And how should we respond as medical regulators across the world particularly in the emerging post-Covid world?

This webinar will be chaired by Martin Fletcher, CEO of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and member of the IAMRA Management Committee.

The lead speaker will be  Anna Van Der Gaag, former Chair of the Health and Care Professions Council (UK), and now with an academic appointment at University of Surrey.  Ms. Van Der Gaag will be speaking to kindness in regulation - what it means, why it is important, and the growth of ‘relational regulation’.

Panelists include: Susan Biggar, National Engagement Advisor for AHPRA – Ms. Biggar will speak to doctors under investigation – what have they told us about their experience and what have we done about it; and Dr. Heidi Oetter, Registrar of the College of Physician and Surgeons of British Columbia (Can) and Chair-elect of IAMRA – Dr. Oetter will speak to how medical regulators are humanizing regulatory processes, especially in the post COVID environment.

For more information, please contact the IAMRA Secretariat.

The video for IAMRA's webinar on Physician Health and Wellness is now available.

Physician health and wellness has been an ongoing issue for some years, and the COVID pandemic has only added to the stressors that many physicians and other healthcare workers are experiencing.  This webinar took a closer look at the current situation and what we can do as medical regulators and as part of the wider healthcare community to support physicians and healthcare workers.

This webinar was chaired by Dr. Humayun Chaudhry, President and CEO of the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) in the U.S. and Secretary of IAMRA.  Panelists included Dr. Jeancarlo Fernandes Cavalcante, Department for International Affairs, Brazilian Federal Medical Council and Prof. Solomon Rataemane,  Chair of the Medical and Dental Board, Health Professions Council of South Africa.

Closing comments were made by Dr. Kgosietsile Letlape, Chair of IAMRA.

IAMRA's 2021 Virtual Conference will take place October 12-14, 2021. 

The Theme of the Conference is Supporting a Workforce Under Pressure – The Regulator’s Role.

IAMRA's Members General Assembly will take place on October 26, 2021.

More information on both of these events will be available in the coming weeks.

IAMRA's 2022 International Conference on Medical Regulation will take place November 14-17, 2022 in Johannesburg, South Africa.  IAMRA's Members General Assembly will take place on November 16, 2022.

More information on both of these events will be available in the coming months.

IAMRA is pleased to announce its newest member - Korean Academy of Medical Sciences - Partner. Iamra currently has 119 members from 48 countries. To see a full list of IAMRA members, please click here or visit the Membership Listing. 

IAMRA would like to recognize the extraordinary effort and dedication of medical regulatory authorities around the world in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We know that you are working hard to maintain focus on public health and safety and ensuring high standards of clinical practice while at the same time, working from home, advising government, responding to medical capacity and training requirements as well as innumerable other issues. Many of your council and board members are also front-line practitioners adding to the challenges of delivering effective and responsive regulation at this difficult time. Your dedication and support of medical practitioners is, no doubt, making a positive difference to the pandemic’s trajectory.

Medical regulation is a challenging and pressured at the best of times, but even more so during these times of great change and uncertainty. IAMRA’s Management Committee and Secretariat acknowledge your hard work and commitment in keeping your communities safe in these unprecedented times.

Please be assured that  IAMRA’s Management Committee is also working hard to shift the Association’s priorities in response to the effects of the pandemic. We will be sharing regular updates over the coming months.

With my very best wishes and heartfelt appreciation,

Dr. Kgosietsile Letlape
Chair of IAMRA