Refurbished medical equipment: A bane to healthcare – Rajiv Nath, Jt MD, Hindustan Syringes & Medical Devices
The medical sector has been using refurbished medical devices due to its cost effectiveness and the budget constraints at many […]
Anushruti Singh April 30, 2019
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The medical sector has been using refurbished medical devices due to its cost effectiveness and the budget constraints at many levels in the Indian healthcare industry. Many original manufacturers and standalone refurbishes have established a separate second-hand market which has been flourishing in India. But, there are issues which have been raised by domestic manufacturers and demands total ban on such devices. But so far, refurbished medical devices have zero bans in the sector. At the same time, import of such machines chews major chunk of machine imports, year-over-year. Rajiv Nath, Joint Managing Director at Hindustan Syringes & Medical Devices Ltd and Forum Coordinator of Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD), in conversation with SME Futures, talks about the various aspects of refurbished medical equipment and why Indian manufacturers seek total ban on such devices.What is refurbished medical equipment? What is the basic understanding of people about refurbished medical equipment?There are two major types of pre-owned medical equipment imported into India:
- Refurbished
- Non-refurbished/pre-owned/ demo etc.
Yes. This policy of allowing import of refurbished medical equipment will ruin the medical industry in India and in the process it will be dominated by the international multinational companies. Every where in the world small scale manufacturing companies made it possible to develop unique products and they are quite capable to make the make-in-india dream successful. Otherwise we will remain dependent forever. I am not saying that govt should ban the import of medical device but asking for “fair playing ground”. I must say that the Indian SME has the potential to lead in this field in the world but we don’t need any protection but a fair playing ground.