The National Health Systems Resource Center (NHSRC) under India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, has been appointed as the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Center for Priority Medical Devices and Health Technology, the first such center in South East Asia, says a news item from GroundReport.
On the occasion, the health secretary B.P. Sharma stated, “Prioritizing medical devices and health technology in the country is an important agenda item. It is critical to have the specifications in place for the medical devices and equipment that are already procured and used in the system. There is also need for dedicated medical devices testing laboratories to ensure the safety and efficacy of these devices.”
Dr. Nata Menabde, the WHO representative for India, commented, “There is a need for appropriate and applicable health care technology in India. Our medical devices industry is under-invested and heavily import driven at present, but with the current “Make in India” campaign, there is a huge opportunity for growth and expansion of the medical device industry. This would highly improve the access of essential medical devices and healthcare technology to patients in India.”
The division of Healthcare Technology & Innovation at NHSRC has been working in the area of health technologies and related policy interfaces. The scope of its work includes:
- Framing technical specifications for technologies procured under the National Health Mission
- Collating information on best practices for technology life cycle management and maintenance
- Creating a secretariat for the assessment and uptake of innovations into public health systems
- Proposing a road map for establishing testing laboratories
- Supporting the Health Ministry on issues related to free essential diagnostics and other technology intensive services
- Enhancing domestic manufacturing capacity
- Monitoring quality and safety criteria for healthcare technologies
- Conducting health technology assessments
