KARACHI: Medical Devices have an important role in diagnosis of diseases before proper treatment can be initiated. In the federal budget, these instruments and equipment which includes CT scan, MRI, laboratories (all Kits & Analyzers) operation theaters (OT Table & all surgical items) ICU (Ventilator & Monitors) Blood banks (Screening kits, Blood Grouping Reagents & Blood Bags) have been ignored.
For example, our most valuable Liver specialist and editor of the Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association (JPMA) in Karachi Dr. Sarwar Jahan Zubair Chief Editor of JPMA had died of Malaria on (March 17, 2004), because Malaria was not diagnosed by proper Medical Device. It was after her death that Assemblies passed the Bill to include Malaria Screening in Blood Bank together with Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV, and Syphilis, which all are Medical Devices and therefore blood cannot be issued by a Blood Bank without using Medical Devices to screen these diseases.
In case an unconscious patient lands in an emergency department of a hospital, the first thing they do, open the blood vessel with a Medical Device and test the blood to see what disease they have and then give drug with canola/syringe which are Medical Device. So, without a Medical Device patient would die, even if you have a drug available which highlights the importance of medical devices in helping diagnosis. Similarly in poison control center, patient most often are brought unconscious who had tried to commit suicide. Those patients can only survive by opening the mouth and a Nasogastric tube (for gastric wash) is inserted, which again is a Medical Device and if this is not available most of the patient would die. In the current budget, the government has imposed taxes on these devices while exempting drugs. It will only increase the cost of treatment. The authorities should consider removing or at least reducing the taxation on these medical devices. (PR)
