Mutual recognition: response to the regulatory implications of a changing health care environment

Mutual recognition offers a regulatory solution for dealing more effectively with the changes that have occurred, and continue to occur, in health care. To meet the demands of the integrated delivery system, the challenges of technological advances, and the public need for access to nursing care, nursing regulators have explored ways to make state boundaries more permeable while maintaining critical standards for consumer protection. This article discusses the evolution of regulation, the dilemma caused by the changing practice environment, why mutual recognition was chosen as the model for regulatory reform, and how mutual recognition will work from the perspective of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.