News & Publications Advancing Healthcare Through Innovative Technologies and Devices
Healthcare systems in Canada use tendering processes for the procurement of medical technology. This tendering process has become increasingly complex and is requiring a significant allocation of resources. The medical technology industry is concerned about the direction of the complexity, lack of transparency in the process and the variation in clauses contained in the tenders.
In all cases, competitive tendering should support and recognize the value of innovation in medical technologies to patients, clinicians and healthcare systems, and should reward features that bring new capabilities and options to the clinical pathway.
Best Tendering Practices
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Significant change in the healthcare system is ongoing. Over the last year regional transformation within the provinces -- increased reliance on technology assessment, province-to-province agreements to a new and aggressive approach to provincial and hospital tendering practices -- have all arisen in multiple jurisdictions. These changes should not focus on commoditization of medical technologies and services, or downplay the value of innovation in he healthcare system, rather change should be an enabler for patients to access the medical technologies and diagnostics they require.
Health System Reform and related issues are being addressed by MEDEC and its member committees in a number of way including:
Health Technology Assessment position paper
The Global Harmonization Task Force was conceived in 1992 in an effort to achieve greater uniformity between national medical device regulatory systems. This is being done with two aims in mind: enhancing patient safety and increasing access to safe, effective and clinically beneficial medical technologies around the world. A partnership between regulatory authorities and regulated industry, the GHTF is comprised of five Founding Members: European Union, United States, Canada, Australia and Japan. The GHTF has recently engaged with regulators from other jurisdictions, e.g., the Asian Harmonization Working Party (representing 22 countries) to broaden its work on harmonization. Harmonized medical regulatory systems decreases the burdens of governments and industry and benefits patients.
Delays at the MDB began in 2007, first generating a backlog in applications for in vitro diagnostics (IVDD) and cardiovascular devices; since then the backlog has spread evenly over all application classes. In fact, the current delay for Class III and Class IV devices are on average between 2-3 times the target timelines.
MEDEC is working with Health Canada and MDB to find solutions to the issues related to declining performance.
MEDEC is dedicated to advancing healthcare by delivering innovative technologies and devices. Because the relationships between MEDEC's Members and healthcare professionals are so important, they must be guided by the highest ethical standards.
For this reason, MEDEC members have designed and adopted a Code of Conduct to promote ethical business practices and socially responsible industry conduct to govern their interactions with healthcare professionals.
MEDEC's voluntary Code of Conduct was adopted January 1, 2005 to guide interactions between healthcare professionals and Members. A revised Code of Conduct was released in April 2010.
MEDEC Code of Conduct
