Diffusion of medical technology: medical devices in India

Abstract

This review examines the diffusion of modern medical devices in India by analyzing trends in India’s cross-border trade in medical devices, its domestic medical device production and utilization by households. We explore the implications of this process of diffusion for the efficacy, cost–effectiveness and equitable use of new medical devices in India, and review recent efforts to regulate the Indian medical device sector.

Keywords::

• diffusion
• domestic production
• efficiency
• India
• inequity
• medical device
• regulation
• technology transfer
• trade

Acknowledgements

Dhruva Kothari provided outstanding research assistance. We are also grateful also to Anil Varshney, Naseem Shah, Marthanda VS Valiathan and Grace Wyshak for useful discussions. Three anonymous reviewers of this journal provided insightful comments that have greatly improved this paper.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

Data collection for this paper was partially supported by a grant from the WHO. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.