Quality, quality assurance and quality assured practitioners

The need for consumers to differentiate competing products on the grounds of quality has been around since ancient times and, over the centuries, various bodies have been formed with the aim of ensuring consumer confidence in the quality of the goods and services being traded. The goal of standardising the measurable quality of healthcare also has historical precedence and, in more recent times, the requirement for continuing medical education that has now evolved to continuing professional development, is recognised by healthcare professionals as an essential part of enhancing and maintaining their quality of practice. Physio First has continually expanded on this national requirement by championing evidence-based practice, initially through encouraging members to participate in data collection, and most recently in the option, through the analysis of this collected data, of obtaining the status of Quality Assured Practitioner (QAP).