[bmj]

I write software for clinical trial data collection, so I'm in the same boat. Not only is every product tested, but QA must thoroughly document their tests. At the end of the day, yeah, it slow the process down, but the software is significantly more robust when it heads into field.

Having worked at many companies that didn't believe in QA at all, I think having a team of testers is beneficial not only for software quality, but also filtering potential bug reports from the field. When a client reports a potential, QA does the initial leg work in duplicating the issue, then passes it off to engineering.