Selecting medical devices and materials for development in Korea: the analytic hierarchy process approach

Recently, the health industry in Korea has been given greater emphasis. Amid budgetary restrictions, setting the priorities for effective and efficient investment in medical devices and materials has been a key issue in the government sector. This paper shows how the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) can be used in assessing selected medical devices and materials for grants by the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare. The final results show that unabsorbable suture is the most attractive medical product among 88 evaluated products, followed by i.v. cannula and central venous catheter.