Technology assessment and quality assurance.

While quality of care activities and technology assessment have important aspects in common, they are also different in significant ways. Quality of care activities will generally come later in the life cycle of a technology and should be primarily concerned with benefit. Technology assessment activities are broader in their concerns and deal with all stages in the life cycle of a technology. Information from technology assessment has significant implications for improving decision making in health care. Quality of care activities themselves can profit from the growing body of information available from technology assessment.