Structures and functions of physician regulatory authorities in English-speaking countries: implications for physician licensure governance in Korea

Abstract

Purpose: This review examined the structures and functions of physician regulatory authorities in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, and Australia and considered their implications for physician licensure governance in Korea.Current concepts: This review analyzed official reports and publicly available documents, with emphasis on six functional areas of physician regulation: physician registration and license renewal, maintenance of professional standards, continuing professional development and competence, medical education accreditation, licensing examinations, and complaints investigation and discipline. All four countries have established systems encompassing these functions; however, the allocation of these functions and the arrangements for their administration and financing vary across jurisdictions. Shared features include statutory foundations for professional regulation, formal mechanisms for public participation, and institutional structures that balance professional expertise with public accountability.Discussion and conclusion: Korea has assigned a unique number to each physician license for more than 50 years, but it has not established a professionally led and publicly accountable system for managing physician licensure, and the relevant functions remain divided among multiple institutions. Initial priorities should include strengthening physician registration, continuing professional development, and peer-review mechanisms as steps toward establishing a professionally led and publicly accountable physician regulatory authority. Such an authority could support professional accountability, patient safety, and public trust.