Group pushes FDA to announce medical device tracking program

The Food & Drug Administration  is taking too long to announce and implement a program to track medical devices, according to the Advanced Patient Safety Coalition. The Coalition, consisting of of hospitals, patient advocacy groups, and clinicians, called unique medical device identification “a crucial factor” in improving patient safety and reducing the frequency of medical errors. An identification system that assigns a medical device unique number will mean quicker and more reliable recalls and better tracking of outcomes in patients who have implanted devices, representatives of the group added.