GAO opens second reprocessing probe
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
The Government Accountability Office will investigate the reprocessing of single-use medical devices, following a request from House Government Reform Committee Chairman Thomas Davis (R-Va.) and Ranking Minority Member Henry Waxman (D-Calif.). The Congressmen sent letters to FDA and GAO Dec. 16 requesting information on the federal government's oversight of reprocessed devices. GAO Healthcare Division Director Marcia Crosse said staff members will be assigned to the project over the next four months. GAO will update its report from 2000, which found little evidence that reprocessing is unsafe. "As times have changed, the industry has changed, and the work that was previously done needs some updating," said Government Reform Committee spokesman Robert White...