Testifying before a US House of Representative hearing on mobile medical technology on
March 21st, FDA official Christy Foreman indicated that the agency’s approach to mobile medical app oversight will not include smartphones or tablets used to access such devices.
A pair of House Republicans promise to take a closer look at the FDA, calling for an independent advisory committee to help provide insight and point out areas of improvement at the federal watchdog agency.
There appear to be a few glimmers of constructive activity in Washington, D.C. Last week, the Senate moved the ball forward on an issue that is extremely important to innovation and jobs in the United States. By passing an amendment to repeal the medical device tax by an overwhelming 79-20 votes, the Senate has done the right thing for patients and the U.S. economy.
The purpose of the workshop is to discuss the growing need for medical device labeling to be delivered in a clear, concise, and readily accessible format so that patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers may access and utilize device labeling as efficiently and effectively as possible. This public workshop aims to engage stakeholders in active discussion with FDA and to encourage public comments regarding standard content and format for medical device labeling and the use of a repository containing medical device labeling.
FDA National Forum and MedCon 2013
April 30 – May 3, 2013
Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH
Senate votes 79-20 in favor of medical device tax repeal amendment.
FDA recently published a new proposed rule in the Federal Register that will be open to comments until May 28th, 2013. The rule proposes an amendment to the regulations at 21 CFR Parts 807, 812, and 814 pertaining to the acceptability of data collected inside and outside of the U.S. that will be used to support a marketing application (IDE, 510(k), PMA, etc.). Surprisingly, the regulations currently do not fully address the requirements for either.
Concerns brought up by the medical device industry, consumer groups, health plans, health care providers and employees of the FDA created a need for re-evaluating the process for receiving and reviewing medical device approvals. Problems that became apparent included: uncertainty of requirements, lengthy reviews, and mid-process changes that left things unpredictable.
A bill has been proposed to the House of Representatives, in December of 2012, proposes the expansion of the use of health care through telecommunication systems.
Senator Udall takes the time to respond to a Colorado voter on the must debated Medical Device Excise Tax. Read about his comments in this weekly BLOG.