Is the medical device industry’s political and regulatory agenda at odds with the needs of patients? That’s one of the questions explored in an article published late last week by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune.
The benefits cited by proponents of efforts to bring new devices to market more quickly include more options for patients, job creation, and a streamlined regulatory environment that will pave the way for continued innovation.
Some patient advocacy groups counter that faster approvals will lead to more recalls of products that are unsafe or simply don’t work as promised. For individuals who must deal every day with the consequences of device malfunctions, the discussion is not a trivial one.
