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The Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), a medical device trade association based in Washington, has urged Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to provide the necessary fillip to the medical technology sector in the budget, in order to increase access to newer therapies to patients for better health outcomes and improved quality of life.
The association said it hoped that encouraging measures from the Finance Minister would enhance penetration of essential medical devices - such as stents, orthopaedic implants for knee and hip replacements - and diagnostics. An effective and innovative use of medical technology has the potential of increasing access, significantly reducing the burden of disease and the load on healthcare delivery services through early diagnosis, better clinical outcomes, less invasive procedures and shorter recovery times.
AdvaMed has made following recommendations for the upcoming budget:
- Investment in healthcare overall ecosystem: To make healthcare more accessible to the patients the focus should be on improving primary healthcare. The infrastructure should be strengthened by investing on more quality tertiary care centres for patients and supply chains for better healthcare delivery.
- Separate regulatory framework for medical devices and equipment: The current Drugs and Cosmetics Act treats devices at par with pharmaceutical products. But the availability of more complex and varied life-saving medical devices and technology mandates that it should get special status with its own regulatory framework. Although an amendment to the Drug & Cosmetics Act had been proposed to cover medical devices in their own stead, the proposed amendment has not been approved by the Parliament yet. The government had also hinted at the creation of a separate Department of Medical Devices. An amended Act with a separate ministry will be the right step in creating clear ownership within the government to push the medical devices agenda.
- Relax import duties: Since the local manufacturing of devices and equipment is still in a developmental phase, the government should not discourage imports by raising the duties as has been done. On one hand, this will limit further the penetration of medical devices in the country. And it will also be a deterrent to the ‘Make in India’ in terms of attracting Foreign Direct Investment in the sector, as we will be positioning ourselves as a market that does not offer economies of scale.
- Bolster indigenous manufacturing of medical devices and equipment: The manufacture of medical devices should be a special focus under the current ‘Make in India’ program. Financial incentives such as tax holidays should be extended to the manufacturers and their products. The association is however supportive of the import duty relaxation on raw materials to support Make in India.
