Don’t Erode Medical Device Trust with Right to Repair

By Luis Belén, Chief Executive Officer of the National Health IT Collaborative for the Underserved (NHIT) | MedCity News

When you walk into a doctor’s office or a hospital, you don’t even think twice about the machines that your healthcare professionals are using to treat you. It’s an inherent trust that wherever you seek your care, the equipment works properly and will protect your well-being.

Doctors have also bought into this sentiment of trust in the efficacy of the medical devices they use. They must have full confidence that their equipment will carry out its necessary job.

But what if the effectiveness of the medical equipment that serves both patients and doctors was suddenly not guaranteed? Not only would this widen the disparities already existent in the healthcare community, but it could also open these devices to inherent risks that will put patient safety on the line. Unfortunately, this could become reality if policymakers decide to include medical devices in the so-called right to repair legislation.

There have been several states that are looking to expand their residents’ ability to fix the products they own — either by themselves or by taking it to an independent repair business. However, the right to repair discussion expands beyond personal devices — like your cell phone — to include commercial products like medical devices. But medical devices are a completely different type of product and opening the door to more unregulated repairs could create a significant risk to patient safety.

Patients need more safeguards on the lifesaving equipment that they are treated with, not less. If anything, we need to find ways to enhance oversight for third-party repairs and encourage access by trained technicians.

Read the full piece in MedCity News.