New European medical device regulation: How the French ecosystem should seize the opportunity of the EUDAMED and the UDI system, while overcoming the constraints thereof

Abstract

The European regulation governing the placing on the market of medical devices (MD) provides for the gradual and mandatory phasing-in, within the European Union, of a unique device identification (UDI) system and a European database (EUDAMED) aimed at improving traceability and transparency of the market. The deployment of these tools will have a significant impact on the stakeholders of the medical device world (companies, health institutions, healthcare professionals, competent authorities, etc.). A strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats (SWOT) analysis conducted among the think tank participants shows real support for the objectives but also distinguishes a great deal of issues relating to the implementation of these tools. An inventory of the current traceability tools and databases used in France was then carried out to measure the gaps between the requirements of the European regulation and the current situation revealing that EUDAMED and the UDI system will ultimately have to slot into a complex and poorly interoperable ecosystem. An essential first step to facilitate this integration will be to increase the number of educational, awareness-raising and information initiatives for the stakeholders concerned. Several other recommendations were put forward to support the implementation of EUDAMED and the UDI system in France and thus enable their promises to crystallise in the future.

Keywords: Coding; Database; Medical devices; Regulations; Traceability.