Brussels, 27 May 2008 - Today, the European Commission published the results of the first public consultation on reprocessing. Eucomed, the voice of medical technology in Europe welcomes the publication of the European Commission (EC). The association hopes that these results will help in guaranteeing patient safety.
"It is highly important that the Commission build on the results of this consultation, as both patients and physicians are currently often left in the dark about whether a medical device has been reprocessed or not" says John Wilkinson, chief executive of Eucomed.
Eucomed believes that medical technology can improve patients' quality of life. Certain medical devices however can only be used safely once. Upon reuse, these devices cannot be guaranteed to perform identically to an unused device.
Following the last revision of the Medical Devices Directive (MDD), the European Commission has been requested to draft a report on reprocessing. To this end, the EC has published a first broad questionnaire in the summer of 2007.
Eucomed is the Voice of the medical technology industry in Europe. Eucomed represents directly and indirectly 4500 designers, manufacturers and suppliers of medical technology used in the diagnosis, prevention, treatment and amelioration of disease and disability. Small and medium sized companies make up more than 80% of this sector. The European medical technology industry invests some EUR 3.8 billion in research and development and employs near to 435,000 highly skilled workers. The mission of Eucomed is to improve patient and clinician access to modern, innovative and reliable medical technology.
Mark Grossien
Communications Director
mark.grossien(at)eucomed(dot)be
+32 (0)2.775.92.24
