Mar 23, 2017
EMERGO SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS:
Medical device regulators at the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) have published new guidelines explaining what constitutes acceptable clinical evidence for medical device and IVD manufacturers.
The guidelines also cover acceptable processes and procedures for gathering, analyzing and recording such evidence; all medical devices and IVDs registered with the TGA must have adequate clinical evidence to demonstrate safety and performance, and manufacturers must be able to provide clinical evidence to Australian regulators at any time.
According to an Emergo analysis, the new guidelines hew closely to standards established by the Global Harmonization Task Force (GHTF) as well as the European Commission’s MEDDEV guidance documents. Through the guidelines, the TGA has provided a more detailed and thorough overview of TGA expectations and requirements regarding clinical evidence. Specific guidance for some device types such as joint prostheses is also included in the new document.
Previously, TGA registrants could only reference a short section of the Australian Regulatory Guidelines for Medical Devices (ARGMD) for information on clinical evidence requirements.
The Australian Department of Health recently issued several corrections to its list of prosthetic medical devices used to determine reimbursement rates from private health insurers in the country.
The Australian Department of Health has started consultations on how to improve the country’s private health insurance system that may affect how implantable medical devices are reimbursed once any potential reforms are implemented.