Litzman: I’ll cut red tape on imported medical equipment

Litzman promised to hold another meeting with the Chambers of Commerce in a month.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Health Minister MK Ya’acov Litzman at Magen David Adom conference, December 28, 2015 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Health Minister MK Ya’acov Litzman at Magen David Adom conference, December 28, 2015
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Health Minister Ya’acov Litzman has promised to shorten times required to register imported medical equipment and to improve service.
The “Cornflakes Law” that he approved to reduce red tape in importing dry food could be a model for this, he said this week.
Meeting with the Chambers of Commerce, Litzman conceded that his ministry often takes much too long to approve medical devices brought in from abroad that can save lives using advanced technologies.
As a result, hospitals and clinics have to wait for equipment they ordered, Chambers of Commerce deputy director-general Haim Oz said.
“This results in unnecessary expenses that reduce the productivity of businesses and the whole economy,” he said, adding that discussions of the problem with the ministry had been going on for years.
One of the main problems was the lack of ministry manpower for approving the equipment, said Oz, who added that speedier imports will increase competition and lower prices.
The minister said he sympathizes with the importers’ problems and that the authorization process must be simplified.
One of the solutions for streamlining, said Litzman, could be the equivalent of the “Cornflakes Law” for medical technologies.
He instructed the ministry’s management to significantly increase the number of employees in the medical equipment branch and to use an advanced computer system to accept requests from businesses online.
Litzman promised to hold another meeting with the Chambers of Commerce in a month.