Health economics
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Although quality assurance (QA) programming in Canada is still at an early stage of development, health professionals are increasingly being called upon to substantiate the value of the services they provide. A body of research showing wide variations in the rates of service provision and significant amounts of inappropriate care have convinced many policy makers about the need to improve quality in the Canadian health system. ⋯ Although some licensing organizations do conduct proactive routine audits of their members' practices, a national survey, based on self-report, indicated that most of these programmes do not conform to recommendations found in the quality assurance literature. Although there have been some new initiatives in Canadian QA, it remains to be seen how these will influence the evolution of quality assurance programming conducted by Canada's health professions.