The REMAIN HOME trial is investigating whether integrating a pharmacist into 14 general practices reduces unplanned hospital re-admissions of patients who were recruited during admission to any of 11 participating hospitals. The investigators have recently described their tortuous journey to secure all necessary ethics and sites-specific governance approvals to conduct the research. The description will ring a familiar bell with any experienced researcher, and provides clear insight into the dysfunctional systems that current govern these issues in Australia. The authors nevertheless confirm the widely held view that although proper regulatory oversight of research is vital, things would be much simpler, easier and less expensive if the governance application process in the hospital sector could be streamlined, thereby facilitating multi-centre research. Read the original paper in the MJA here.