New law will control medical equipment oversight
05/10/2012 01:47
After years of inadequate medical equipment supervision, Knesset approves a government bill to improve such activities.
Knesset building Photo: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post
After years of inadequate supervision of medical equipment, the Knesset this
week approved a government bill to improve such activities. The Health Ministry
said Wednesday that such an upgrade was necessary because the medical equipment
field had expanded and grown in recent years.
This was the first piece of
legislation on medical equipment that aimed to preserve the health of the
general public and the patient; until now, there were only less-binding
regulations from the ministry director-general. The legislation will mean the
ministry can supervise the production, marketing and use of medical equipment in
the country, and all such equipment must meet uniform standards like those
around the world.
The bill dates back to October 2007, when the previous
Knesset’s Labor, Welfare and Health Committee held the first discussions on it.
It was given continuity in this Knesset so that the legislative work could be
completed. This past January, a subcommittee on medical equipment, headed by
National Union MK Arye Eldad (a surgeon and burns expert), convened and reached
the final stages for completing the process.
The ministry said it would
improve its supervisory and registration activities as the law is implemented,
and increase the number of its staffers in the field.