Medtech Industry Responds to Bush’s Vision for the Future

Following President Bush’s annual State of the Union address on January 31, 2006, medtech manufacturers and industry representatives issued statements recognizing the implications of the president’s comments for the future of the medtech industry and national healthcare system.

AdvaMed’s Ubl: Supporting U.S. competitiveness.

Industry association AdvaMed (Washington, DC) applauded the president’s call to strengthen U.S. competitiveness. “While America’s medical technology industry is already the global leader, additional trade initiatives to open foreign markets are needed for U.S. companies to compete fairly and allow more patients worldwide to benefit from the innovations our industry offers,” said Stephen J. Ubl, president and CEO of AdvaMed. “Making the R&D tax credit permanent is also essential to the continued competitiveness of an industry such as ours that is made up primarily of smaller manufacturers with heavy investments in R&D.”

In addition, AdvaMed agreed with Bush’s emphasis on investing in the future. “Promoting math and science in our schools and committing more resources to basic research in the physical sciences will help ensure the next generation of engineers, scientists, and physicians will continue to discover new and better ways to keep people healthy, detect diseases early, and save lives,” Ubl said.

Several days after the State of the Union, AdvaMed released another statement in response to the president’s 2007 budget. In it, Ubl similarly praised the emphasis placed on increasing math and science research and education. However, he also expressed concern over the budget’s proposed cuts in Medicare. “Medical progress depends on adequate reimbursement to support adoption of the new cures and treatments that medical technology provides,” Ubl said. “AdvaMed is particularly troubled by proposals for competitive bidding of diagnostic tests. Some of the most exciting advances in medicine are coming in this field, and correct treatment decisions by doctors and other health professionals depend on accurate diagnosis.”

Siemens’ McCausland: More to be done.

Despite these concerns, Ubl expressed support for the budget’s allocations to promote the adoption of health information technology (IT), a topic also highlighted in the State of the Union address. Following the address, Thomas N. McCausland, president of Siemens Medical Solutions USA (Malvern, PA), issued a statement acknowledging the president’s call for the establishment of an interoperable electronic healthcare record (EHR), as well as his allocation of $61.7 million for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology in 2006. “Clearly, the groundwork is in place, but there is more that needs to be done,” said McCausland.

“For example, offering exemptions to laws that prohibit hospitals from providing IT systems to local physicians would increase IT adoption, and allow hospitals to extend networks to their communities,” McCausland continued. “Currently, only about 17% of physician practices are automating health information—not because they don’t see the value, but because cost and time for implementation are barriers. The success of a national EHR requires that all healthcare providers, including smaller physician offices, be connected.”

© 2006 Canon Communications LLC

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