India's implant surge sparks call for a national safety registry

Key points

• India is witnessing a surge in the use of life-saving medical implants, with more than 10 lakh patients every year receiving devices such as cardiac stents, pacemakers, orthopaedic joints, spinal implants, heart valves and neurovascular devices.
• But alongside this medical progress, experts are warning of a major gap in patient safety – the absence of a Medical Implant Registry.
• Industry leaders say the lack of a nationwide tracking system leaves millions of Indians vulnerable if implants fail or are recalled globally.
• They argue that while India has expanded access to advanced healthcare technologies, it still cannot reliably trace which patient received a particular implant, where it was used, or whether complications have emerged over time.
• Read Full Story “A patient today cannot easily find out whether the implant inside his or her body has been recalled internationally or linked to failures elsewhere,” said Rajiv Nath, forum coordinator of the All...