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Medical devices

How medtech looks going forward: An interview with Pavan Choudary

Medtech is a staple of healthcare systems the world over, vital in the management of a plethora of health issues. Last year, to explore this subject, Health Issues India interviewed Medical Technology Association of India chairperson, Vygon Indian managing director, and writer Pavan Choudary. At that time, Choudary and I discussed the importance of medical …

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United we stand in the fight against COVID-19

Fiscal stimulus, such as the removal of the health cess and customs duty, will greatly support patient access to critical medical products, as will addressing operational challenges and the early release of Government payment to providers. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a sense of urgency and the responsibility to think long-term to improve access …

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Ventilators, oxygen and COVID

The number of Indian COVID-19 patients requiring ventilators is low, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has reported.  Of currently-infected patients, just 0.33 percent require assistance breathing with ventilators and 1.5 percent require oxygen support. 2.34 percent are in intensive care, the Minister said. The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in India – the …

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Hammer Blow to Affordable Healthcare— The Impact of Health Cess (Op-Ed)

By Rakshit Tewari, a public healthcare consultant and an advocate for rational and affordable access to equitable healthcare The year 2019 had healthcare on the ballot with the government riding on the Ayushman Bharat wave, promising affordable healthcare to all. The year 2020 will tell us if the Government will be able to make affordability …

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Medical Devices Bill impasse comes to a close?

The impasse between government think tank Niti Aayog and the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare over a controversial medical devices bill may be over according to a recent report filed in The Economic Times. Discord emerged between the two bodies over a proposed regulatory overhaul of medical devices in the country, which would …

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Medical devices regulation: Boon or bane?

Central regulation of medical devices is to come into effect in India as of April, it has been reported.  Once the shift has come into force at the beginning of the forthcoming fiscal year, all medical devices and equipment for the purposes of “diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, investigations and for supporting or sustaining life” will be …

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Unregulated medical devices to be brought before the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court will hear on unregulated medical devices tomorrow, ANI reports.  Justice N. V. Ramana will head a bench to hear a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Dr Rohit Jain seeking government action on online sale of medical devices – specifically glucometers and in vitro diagnostic medical devices. Unregulated medical devices, the suit …

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With an additional five percent health cess in play, patients take the hit: Global firms share their perspective

New Delhi, February 3, 2020: The Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, in the 2020-21 Budget statement announced an additional five percent health cess on imports of medical devices. In the current scenario, India imports over seventy percent of its medical devices with a fourth of them from the US. Medical device imports rose by 24 …

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Union Budget: The main takeaways for health

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented India’s 2020 Union Budget over the weekend, her second. Whilst it has won praise from Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, some in the healthcare sector have expressed dissatisfaction.  How much did the Union Budget allocate the health sector? Among the main takeaways of the 2020 Union Budget for …

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US-India Trade Deal: A win-win situation for the patients and the sector

New Delhi, January 30th, 2020: Amid the ongoing positive developments in the US-India trade deal, speculations to replace the practice of blanket price caps for high-end medical devices and opt for trade margin rationalisation (TMR) have surfaced online. If media reports are to be believed, there has been substantial progress on the trade negotiations with …

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