Access to good quality, affordable, and appropriate health products is indispensable to advance universal health coverage, address health emergencies, and promote healthier populations.
Without medical devices, common medical procedures – from bandaging a sprained ankle, to diagnosing HIV/AIDS, implanting an artificial hip or any surgical intervention – would not be possible. Medical devices are used in many diverse settings, for example, by laypersons at home, by paramedical staff and clinicians in remote clinics, by opticians and dentists and by health-care professionals in advanced medical facilities, for prevention and screening and in palliative care. Such health technologies are used to diagnose illness, to monitor treatments, to assist disabled people and to intervene and treat illnesses, both acute and chronic.
Today, there are an estimated 2 million different kinds of medical devices on the world market, categorized into more than 22 000 generic devices groups. A medical device can be any instrument, apparatus, implement, machine, appliance, implant, reagent for in vitro use, software, material or other similar or related article, intended by the manufacturer to be used, alone or in combination for a medical purpose.
Access to good quality, affordable, and appropriate health products is indispensable to advance universal health coverage, address health emergencies, and promote healthier populations.
Policies, strategies, and action plans for health technologies, specifically for medical devices, are required in any national health plan. Within the context of a robust health system they ensure access to safe, effective, and high-quality medical devices that prevent, diagnose, and treat disease and injury, and assist patients in their rehabilitation.