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Special Article
Summary
This article presents information on the medical equipment industry in India-on production, procurement and utilization
related activities of key players in the sector, in light of the current policies of liberalization and growth of a health-care
industry in India. Policy approaches to medical equipment have been discussed elsewhere.
Keywords: Diagnostics, Import of medical equipment, Medical equipment industry, Medical technologies, Production of medical
equipment
Introduction
Medical devices and equipment receive scant attention
in the Indian context, both at the health policy level
and as an area of study. There has been little attempt
to systematically address the issue of equipment based
medical technologies and regulation of their production
and use. There is paucity of primary data on the kind of
medical equipment and techniques being introduced, on
their need and relative usefulness, reliability, patterns of
utilization, their production, procurement, distribution,
costs and accessibility. This article presents quantitative
and qualitative information on manufacturing and import
of medical equipment, as well as involvement of the
medical equipment industry in product promotion,
lobbying activities, research, education and training of
medical professionals. The necessary information has
*Corresponding Author: Dr. Indira Chakravarthi,
UGC Research Fellow, Centre of Social Medicine
and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi - 110 067, India.
E-mail: indira.jnu@gmail.com
Website: www.ijph.in
DOI: 10.4103/0019-557X.123242
PMID: ***
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Chakravarthi: Medical Equipment Industry in India
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Chakravarthi: Medical Equipment Industry in India
206
Status of Regulations
Lack of standards and regulation for manufacture,
imports and sale of medical equipment
Although there has been an increase in imports and
interest in manufacturing certain kinds of medical
equipment, the government has not devised a system of
regulations and standards for manufacture and import,
and regulation of all these activities. Despite consistent
recommendations by several government committees
regarding standards for medical technology, we find that
there is no initiative by the health ministry to monitor and
regulate such large-scale diffusion of medical equipment
in the country and to lay down guidelines and standards
for their manufacture, import and use for new or existing
technologies, with the exception of X-ray equipment,
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Chakravarthi: Medical Equipment Industry in India
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Acknowledgment
The author would like to thank Dr. Ritu Priya and an anonymous
reviewer for valuable suggestions.
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