Medical devices such as insulin pumps and blood glucose monitors are becoming more essential to the day-to-day management of diabetes for many Canadians. Canadians with diabetes want Health Canada to approve safe and effective new devices for use in Canada with haste so they can benefit from improved health and functioning without resorting to purchasing devices through other means or do-it-yourself alternatives when approvals come too slowly.
Canadians were shocked last fall by media reports of cases of injury or death due to insulin pumps. People with diabetes spoke up, noting that these reports failed to provide sufficient context about the benefits of insulin pump use and the role human error can play in malfunctions.
In response to concerns about malfunctions of multiple types of medical devices, Health Canada announced its Medical Devices Action Plan, which features plans to improve how devices get on the market, strengthen monitoring and follow-up and provide more information to Canadians. As part of actioning this Plan, Health Canada is consulting stakeholders, including Diabetes Canada.
Diabetes Canada’s position on the regulation of medical devices is that efforts to protect the safety of individuals living with diabetes must be balanced against their demand for new technologies, so the regulatory process must be as efficient as possible.
To inform our position on this issue, we would like to hear from people affected by diabetes. We have created a brief eight-question survey to gather your input. All responses will be kept confidential and feedback shared only in aggregate.
If you have any questions, please contact advocacy@diabetes.ca.