Medical devices panel to be formed to reduce patients’ bills

The government doesn’t support technological development.

BENGALURU:  In a bid to reduce patients’ bills as hospitals pass on the cost of importing biomedical equipment right from the anaesthesia workstation to cardiac monitors, the government is all set to announce the formation of a medical devices development council to reduce the dependence on foreign imports and boost local markets. 

Medical device distributors in Bengaluru say that they buy equipments from dealers from different places in the country – who import from other countries and then sell it to hospitals as there isn’t a single manufacturer in the state. Hospitals in turn say, as hospital wares and biomedical equipment cost millions of dollars in imports, they are “forced to pass it on to patients”.

Hi-tech Equipments Company CEO Manjunath Sadar, who witnesses an annual turnover of `1 crore, has an eight year experience in distributing biomedical equipments in the city. He provides equipments including OT tables, OT lights and ICU set up to various hospitals around the city – Sagar Hospital, Akash Hospital, Vikram Hospital, Amrita Hospital and others. 

“We distribute medical devices imported from Taiwan, Thailand, Korea and other countries. I have even written to the small-scale industries department but have received no response to aid to local manufacturing. As an individual, I can’t invest in R&D of technology.

The government doesn’t support technological development. Even a stethoscope or wheelchair is not available from a Bengaluru-based manufacturer. I’m buying from Kolkata and Mumbai importers,” he said.

Dr Madan Gaekwad, vice president at Sagar Hospital, said, “Around 80 per cent of high-end medical equipments are imported. There are a few machines including X-ray where the components are imported and assembled here. India is a very cost-sensitive market. Especially in Radiology, there are certain domestic companies who are trying to manufacture the equipments.”

“Instruments like BP apparatus and Glucometers, hospital wares, hand-held equipments, nebulisers, kidney trays and surgical instruments are made in India, but critical machineries – 
Anaesthesia work station, cardiac monitors, heart lung machine, CT scan machines, C-arm are 
imported. Apart from this, 20 per cent of hospital wares (furniture) is imported,” he said. 

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