Hospital At Home: Great On Paper, Not In Practice

Former nurse advises device manufactures to take care during product development to close the health equity gap

To avoid a wider health equity gap for home-use devices, companies should make social determinants of health a key consideration in device development, former nurse Amy Hester says.

• Source: Shutterstock

While many believe at-home technologies such as remote patient monitoring or telehealth can decrease health care disparities, HD Nursing chairwoman and CEO Amy Hester told Medtech Insight that’s not always the case.

Hester, a former nurse, explained that hospital at home, which allows acute patient care in the home setting, “is really...

Medtech Insight Podcast

Keep up with the top medtech business and regulatory news.

Medtech Insight brings you interviews and analysis, on the go.

More from Diversity & Inclusion

FDA Looks To Achieve Greater Health Equity For Medical Device Access

 

The US FDA has published a discussion paper as part of an effort to ensure all patients have timely access to safe and effective medical devices. The agency says the paper fits into a larger strategy of promoting health equity and is seeking public comment on the initiative.

Medtechs Are Fully Engaged In Climate Change: ‘They Have No Choice’

 
• By 

The E in ESG: SUDs, reuse, disposables, refurbishing, reprocessed devices? Multiple panelists at the 2024 MedTech Forum addressed the role medtech manufacturers should have in the climate change challenge.

FDA's LDT Overhaul Should Go Back To Congress, Appropriations Report Says

 

A fiscal 2025 report from the US House Appropriations Committee instructs the FDA to halt implementation of its overhaul of LDT regulation. Members also showed concern about overseas device manufacturing and the availability of over-the-counter diagnostics. 

Diversity Action Plans Should Be Brief And Waiver Requests Filed Early, US FDA Says

 
• By 

In what could amount to a de facto enforcement mechanism, the new draft guidance also “strongly encourages” sponsors to share details about their diversity action plan and enrollment goals with the public.

More from ESG

EU’s Historic PFAS Restriction Looms Over Medical Devices Sector

 
• By 

The European Chemicals Agency’s committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC) are evaluating sector by sector the proposed REACH restriction on PFAS and more than 5,600 public comments, reaching provisional conclusions on cosmetics at their June meetings. A date has not been set to consider PFAS uses in medical devices, which are numerous, essential, and in many cases devoid of alternatives, industry says.

Diversity Action Plans Should Be Brief And Waiver Requests Filed Early, US FDA Says

 
• By 

In what could amount to a de facto enforcement mechanism, the new draft guidance also “strongly encourages” sponsors to share details about their diversity action plan and enrollment goals with the public.

Diversity Enrichment: US FDA Guidance Suggests Sponsors May Need To Overenroll Key Groups

 

New draft guidance on clinical trial diversity action plans pushes for disproportionately high enrollment of traditionally underrepresented groups, while also asking companies to tailor global programs to US populations and consider diversity aspects that Congress did not outline.