The Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) has welcomed the government’s move to cap prices of orthopaedic knee implants to ensure no profiteering and affordable access.
“We, however, wish for a smooth transition for relabelling and a systemic correction of skewed market place that currently does not allow choice of brands to consumers and free market competition,” the group said in a statement.
Cost of procedure
“The prices are reasonable and we are with the government. We believe this price cap will help every person in the country who needs implants. That said, without reduction in total procedure cost by hospitals the move may not yield desired results,” said AiMeD forum coordinator Rajiv Nath.
Certified facilities
Cautioning the government, Mr. Nath said the “government also needs to weed out unlicensed suppliers who do not have certified facilities and play its role as regulator — there are many such unlicensed manufacturers of orthopaedic implants functioning in India but only Maharashtra FDA has acted against them.”
Beneficial for patients
Dharminder Nagar, the managing director of Paras Healthcare, said the cap on knee implant prices will be beneficial for patients.
“The cap on prices of knee replacement implants by the government is welcome as it will make the procedure more affordable, and thus more and more people will be able to undergo such treatment,” Dr. Nagar said.
However, he said there should be no impact of the decision on the quality.
‘Provide incentive’
“Also, the government should make sure that healthcare providers — who are operating in areas that have no specialised care and have to deal with procurement of the implants, lack of vendors and making doctors available — are given some incentive. Providers who are actually bridging the gap and making healthcare affordable by making it accessible in the patients’ own city need to be given the status of a positive differentiator,” he said.