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Best practice recommendations illustrate neo-liberal governance in the health sector, as expressed by the New Public Management doctrine. They are principally based on knowledge stemming from evidence-based medicine and benefit from scientific legitimacy. In France, they are produced and disseminated by state agencies working with health insurance bodies in order to regulate medical information and guide practice, thus claiming to control spending on health, quality of care, and public health objectives. In order to achieve these aims without overtly compromising the autonomy of physicians, the agencies extolling these recommendations use a number of tools, particularly professional agreements and conventions, to integrate best practice guidelines.