(AFX) - Medical device manufacturers and their trade groups, concerned that devices they make designed for one-time use are being cleaned and recycled by other companies, have been lobbying in several states for restrictions on the practice. Those efforts in recent years include:
--Utah in 2005 passed a law that makes reprocessors of single-use medical devices liable for any safety and efficacy problems with 'critical devices,' those contacting sterile body parts and presenting the greatest risk of disease transmission.
--Massachusetts has a bill pending that would make reprocessors liable for problems with reprocessed devices, require reprocessors to report serious injuries and deaths to the state and require patient notification when they are used. Similar bills have been introduced in Rhode Island and Virginia.
--A trade group plans to lobby for a New Jersey law to require patient consent and physician approval before use of reprocessed devices, tracking of their use and shifting liability to reprocessors.
--A bill in Maryland that would have required patient notification before using reprocessed devices did not pass.
Source: Advanced Medical Technology Association, AP interviews
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