Implementation of adverse event reporting for medical devices, India

Rapid growth in the use of medical devices has drawn attention to gaps in the systematic monitoring of medical device-associated adverse events in India.

Implementation of national regulations on medical devices started in January 2018. Supported by a nationwide network of monitoring centres, the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission coordinates adverse event reports from manufacturers, legal representatives and patients or users. The commission follows-up and reviews reports with subject expert groups and sends recommendations on necessary action to the national regulatory authority.

Before 2015, no systematic structure was in place to collate adverse events associated with medical devices. Several reports of deaths and hospitalization due to faulty hip implants, cardiac stents and poor-quality devices prompted the health ministry to launch the materiovigilance programme.

From July 2015 to October 2019, the commission received 1931 adverse event reports, mostly from marketing authorization holders; 1277 were serious events. Reporting increased markedly after 2017. Cardiac stents were the most reported device (926 events; 47.95%). To encourage a culture of reporting, the commission has raised awareness about the programme among stakeholders, developed user-friendly reporting tools and guidelines, and conducted training for hospital personnel on medical device adverse event reporting.

Regular training to stakeholders develops a sense of responsibility towards reporting medical device adverse events and ensures quality data reporting. Reporters must be assured that reporting adverse events does not have any legal implications for them and given acknowledgement of their role in high-quality device associated adverse event reporting.