Device Recalls: Emerging Tools for a Serious Problem
Access MediQuip, and my teammate and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Steve Arnold, were featured in an article that appeared in Healthcare Purchasing News. Entitled “Total recall striving for prime-time readiness: Automated tools available, emerging among manual processes” the article talks about the critical demand and emerging capabilities of device safety and recall requirements, and features our unique device recall capability. Here’s where AMQ and Steve appeared:
Steven Arnold, M.D., Chief Medical Director, Access MediQuip LLC, Lake Mary, FL, emphasized the criticality of technology to manage the recall alert products. For example, facilities can learn about recalls in many different ways, including FDA notifications, information provided electronically by manufacturers, news articles or by subscribing to a recall information service that delivers recall announcements. A good inventory management system can help facilities locate recalled products, ensure the correct number of products are removed and identify whether there are shipments of the recalled product in transit, he stated.
“When responding to recalls, technology is vital,” Arnold noted. “If a surgical device is recalled, a facility needs to have access to a database through which it can identify patients who received the recalled implant or are scheduled to receive it. Even with a good internal database, this can be a challenging process, and when a facility is working to address a recall — especially a Class I or II recall where a patient’s safety and life is at stake — speed is essential to protecting patients. This is why many facilities partner with a company like Access MediQuip that provides recall services. For example, Access MediQuip’s Recall Management Service (RMS) uses its Patient and Device Registry database of facility, device and case-related information to identify patients potentially affected by a recall through a series of reactive and proactive processes. Through this database, RMS is able to recognize patients who have already received a defective device and those currently scheduled to receive one. Access MediQuip then provides its partner health plans and providers with corresponding member/patient and case information.”