With rapid increases in medical knowledge, technological advancements and the development of highly individualised packets of care available to meet specific patient requirements, being appropriately informed on these aspects of continuing education remains the responsibility of each individual surgeon.
The introduction of new technologies and treatments is dependent on the publishing of supportive peer-reviewed articles demonstrating efficacy without undue risk, and practitioners ensuring they have acquired the appropriate levels of knowledge and skill. This is most satisfactorily monitored through the robust credentialing of practitioners and their work environment, expected as part of each practitioner's employment or right to access surgical facilities.
The European regulatory changes involved extensive consultation, the consolidation of a large body of international evidence, and introduced a suite of improvements to address weaknesses in the legal system, improve the safety of medical devices, and allow continuous quality improvement to occur while protecting patient safety.
There is currently no post-operative surveillance system in place in Australia for patients or clinicians to monitor the outcomes of surgery involving mesh, and this is a major concern for several of our craft groups and consumer health groups. We acknowledge their contributions to our submission.
We believe an expert panel or working group is needed to improve transparency, surveillance and quality of surgical approaches involving mesh and would be happy to provide experts as needed.
Read the complete submission at the link below.