By Dr. Binita Ashar, director of the division of surgical devices in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health Choosing to obtain a breast implant, whether for augmentation or reconstruction, is a deeply personal choice, from the initial decision to undergo breast implant surgery to the size, material and surface texture. These types of […]
FDA Voice
New program with payors aims to accelerate patient access to medical devices
Scott Gottlieb, M.D. Advancing the public health means helping to make sure patients have access to safe, effective medical products. Access is a matter of public health. And our commitments to patients don’t stop at the time of a product’s approval. We take many steps to make sure products can be safely accessed in the […]
FDA is asking for more information on application forms: Here’s why that’s good for innovation and improving health
By: Dr. Christopher Leptak To be most effective, electronic health records (EHRs) use a systematized and standardized nomenclature for the hundreds of thousands of clinical terms that characterize patient care. This helps to ensure consistency from EHR to EHR and allows these records to be usable from healthcare entity to health care entity, a concept […]
Brain implant for some blind people shows benefits of FDA’s Breakthrough Device Program
Malvina Eydelman, M.D., Director of the Division of Ophthalmic, and Ear, Nose, and Throat Devices, Office of Device Evaluation FDA’s Breakthrough Devices Program is beginning to show important results for patients since it was established in late 2016 under the 21st Century Cures Act to help patients gain timely access to breakthrough technologies. Consider Second Sight […]
Charting the FDA’s course for 2018-2020
By: Jeff Shuren, M.D., J.D. Since 2012, we at the Center for Devices and Radiological Health have set as our North Star the vision of patients in the U.S. having access to high-quality, safe, and effective medical devices of public health importance first in the world. “First in the world” is not about a competition […]
FDA to expedite release of recall information
By: Douglas Stearn, J.D. When FDA identifies that a product it regulates violates the law, it protects the public by working with the manufacturer and distributors to facilitate the product’s recall (i.e., removal from the marketplace or product correction). Among other actions, FDA assures that the public is warned when products present the most significant […]
FDA’s role in medical device cybersecurity
By: Suzanne Schwartz, M.D., M.B.A. Virtually every aspect of our lives – including our health – has gone digital. Medical devices from insulin pumps to implantable cardiac pacemakers are becoming more interconnected and, like computers and the networks they operate in can be vulnerable to security breaches. A computer virus or hack resulting in the loss […]
The Mammography Quality Standards Act: A 25-year public health success story
By: Helen Barr, M.D. Mammography has been widely used as a screening tool to detect early-stage breast cancer since the mid-1960s. As the use of the technology expanded it became clear that there were wide variations in the quality of the mammograms and the dose being delivered to patients. Following a series of hearings, Congress stepped […]
Expanded Access: FDA describes efforts to ease application process
By: Scott Gottlieb, M.D. FDA has a long history of supporting patient access to investigational new treatments. This includes working with drug and device companies through the clinical trial process that may lead to FDA approval of the treatment. We also offer expanded access programs that provide investigational drugs and devices to patients with serious […]
FDARA: Making a difference for industry and patients
By: Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., Jeffrey Shuren, M.D., J.D., and Janet Woodcock, M.D. For decades, user fees paid by the medical products industry have provided critical resources needed to conduct product reviews in a timely fashion and to help ensure the safety and effectiveness of medical products that American patients depend upon. Since passage of […]
