AdvaMed Encourages Administration to Consider Patient Needs as It Addresses Semiconductor Shortage
WASHINGTON, D.C. – AdvaMed, the world’s largest trade organization representing medical technology companies, wrote a letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo “to strongly encourage the implementation of policies that ensure equal access to semiconductor chips for all industries that rely on them.”
AdvaMed sent the letter amid rising concern that the shortage of chips could lead, whether explicitly or inadvertently, to a prioritization of other products like automobiles or consumer electronics, putting patients who rely on semiconductor-dependent medical technologies for lifesaving care at risk.
AdvaMed President and CEO Scott Whitaker wrote: “As patients return to hospitals and other healthcare settings for routine and non-COVID- related care, we would like to stress the importance of ensuring that the medical device sector – which does not have the purchasing power of other sectors – receives due consideration as the administration contemplates economic policy and financial incentives that increase semiconductor manufacturing and global chip production. In particular, as demand for chips continues to surge in the face of global supply constraints, we strongly urge the administration to implement policies that benefit all technologies, including those with medical applications, without prioritizing one industry over another.”
Click here for the full letter.
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AdvaMed member companies produce the medical devices, diagnostic products and health information systems that are transforming health care through earlier disease detection, less invasive procedures and more effective treatments. AdvaMed members range from the largest to the smallest medical technology innovators and companies. For more information, visit www.advamed.org.