Addressing Sustainability Challenges in Medical Device Donations WHO 4th Global Forum on Medical Devices 15 December, 2018 Vikas Meka

A discussion paper from experts involved in medical device donations Authors: Bruce Compton, Catholic Health Association of the United States David M. Barash, GE Foundation Jennifer Farrington, Becton Dickinson and Company Cynthia Hall, ExxonMobil Dale Herzog, UPS Foundation Vikas Meka, US Agency for International Development (former) Ellen Rafferty, Becton Dickinson and Company Katherine Taylor, University of Notre Dame Asha Varghese, GE Foundation National Academy of Sciences convened experts from academia, private industry, public and NGOs involved in medical equipment donations to identify key barriers for high-quality donations and to offer recommendations https://nam.edu/perspectives/

Disclaimer The views expressed in the discussion paper are those of the authors and not necessarily of the authors’ organizations, the National Academy of Medicine, or the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies). Conflicts of interest: None disclosed.

Several barriers prevent successful donations Mismatch between the types of equipment that are needed and those that are received Keeping a donation in use depends on whether the recipient’s setting can sustain the long-term operations and cost of the device Health systems have no established process or funding for disposal Donors and other stakeholders have limited access to information about global donations

The medical device donation ecosystem is complex

Existing guidance and approaches have helped address some of the challenges Guidelines, Checklists, Frameworks Medical Device Company Donation Programs Needs Assessments Technical Support Equipment and Infrastructure Upgrade Biomedical Technician Training and Capacity Building Guides to inform donors of best practices, helping them overcome established challenges when donating medical equipment to LICs Empowering recipients in decision making process

Direction forward requires research to address knowledge gaps Evaluation of the efficacy and impact of guidance for donors and recipients at a global, country, and organizational level Collection of data on the effects of donations on recipients at all levels of the healthcare delivery Country specific information on medical device donations Information on the global supply and demand of medical device donations

Acknowledgements Virginia Amman, EJ Ashbourne, Adriana Berumen Velazquez, Kim Bush, Brenda Colatrella, Doug Fountain, Richard Guerrant, Trevor Gunn, Ben Hoffman, Reza Jafari, Andrew Jones, Wade Jones, Justin Koester, Robert Malkin, Ogechi Nwodim, and Lori Warrens for the valuable contributions to the development of the paper. Rachel Taylor and Priyanka Nalamada for the support they provided in developing the paper.

You can help with our current efforts Investigating whether resource-service hubs can improve medical device donations and ultimately strengthen the health system Exploring solutions that increase standardization of medical devices for recipients, and bring transparency to the flow of donations and their impact on health Increasing accreditation of organizations that procure and supply medical devices to ensure donations are high quality Participate in a survey to help us better understand the challenges in the procurement, distribution, and use of medical devices and equipment. Contact: Vikas Meka vvmeka@gmail.com