The Medical Act 1858 an act to regulate the qualifications of practitioners in medicine and surgery, also referred to as the Medical Act 1858, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established the General Medical Council to regulate physicians in the United Kingdom.

 The law describes its purpose, and notes that it is "appropriate to enable persons in need of medical assistance to distinguish between qualified and unqualified practitioners."[1]

 The Act creates the position of Registrar of the General Medical Council - an office that still exists today - with the task of keeping updated records of those registered to practice medicine and making them available to the public.

 The law has now been almost completely repealed. [2]  The current law regulating medical regulation is the Medical Act 1983.[3]

 It stated that under the poor law system boards of trustees could employ only those qualified in medicine and surgery as poor law doctors.

 Under a provision in the law recognizing doctors with foreign degrees in Britain, Elizabeth Blackwell was able to become the first woman to have her name entered in the medical register (1 January 1859).