Number of medical device recalls lowest in two years
According to a new report from Stericycle, the medical device industry experienced its lowest number of medical device recalls since 2012. In total, 275 recalls occurred, including devices from 148 different companies-the lowest number since the second quarter of 2012, according to the report.According to the report, 28 percent of the companies involved in recalls this past quarter had two or more products recalled, and 7 percent of the companies involved had five or more recalls. Stericycle identified one company that accounted for 18 percent of the total volume of recall activity alone, comprising 26 different recalls throughout the reported timeframe.
Additionally, more than half of the recalls , 57 percent, occurred within the U.S. and just one other country. And, although the overall number of units recalled decreased 47 percent from 29.4 million units to 15.5 million, Stericycle still reported an uptick in recall volume. From the first to the second quarter, an 82 percent increase was noted in the volume of recalled units. As such, companies must ensure they are prepared to address all of the challenges of effective recall execution to minimize the fallout when a recall occurs.