After years of inadequate medical equipment supervision, Knesset approves a government bill to improve such activities.
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
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.