Regulating impaired doctors: a snapshot from New South Wales

This article examines the regulation of impaired doctors in Australia and explores the inherent tensions in the new Health Practitioner Regulation National Law in attempting to both treat the doctor and protect the public. It discusses both informal and formal mechanisms of regulation with particular reference to therapeutic jurisprudence and mandatory notification. It focuses particularly on New South Wales and examines all the impairment cases which resulted in disciplinary proceedings in the Medical Tribunal of New South Wales in 2010. It identifies the most common forms of impairment and discusses the particular challenges that impaired doctors pose for regulators.