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TOP 5 HEALTH LAWS AND POLICY UPDATES

Dear Readers, we are happy to share the most interesting legal and policy updates concerning health industry that we read today. we hope you enjoy reading it.

1. All insurance and healthcare policies are by law required to accommodate mental healthcare treatment under the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017. Therefore, even if an explicit provision exists in a current policy, it cannot be ground to refuse reimbursement for mental healthcare services availed under the policy: High Court.
Source: bit.ly/3Qm1LHg

2. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum in Gujarat has recently held that insurance providers cannot rely on a discrepancy in documentation to deny a claim for treatment, provided that the justification letter of the treating doctor sufficiently addresses the eligibility of a claimant under the policy.
Source: bit.ly/41ivGqj

3. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has recently held a core-group meeting to recognize the impact of progressive disabilities and possible changes in applicable law to address the same. The NHRC has also proposed to re-visit the current 40% benchmark for disabilities, to accommodate cases of persons with progressive disabilities.
Source: bit.ly/4hEfMwb

4. A Consumer technology product manufacturer has recently won its invalidation petition before a Federal Court of the United States, with this, the complainant in this matter now has complete and undisputed Intellectual Property rights in the US, over the underlying technology for detecting heart-rate in wearables.
Source: bit.ly/432ybye

5. The World Health Organization released new findings highlighting a concerning lack of awareness about alcohol’s link to cancer in Europe. It called for clear, prominent tobacco-style warnings, particularly in the region with the highest alcohol consumption. While the WHO has consistently warned about alcohol’s cancer risk and supported labeling, this is the first time it has directly called for new government regulations.
Source: bit.ly/4102Vxj

Posted on

TOP 5 HEALTH LAWS AND POLICY UPDATES

Dear Readers, we are happy to share the most interesting legal and policy updates concerning health industry that we read today. We hope you enjoy reading it.

1. India’s Parliamentary Committee on Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, has noted in a recent report, that the National Test House (NTH) of the Consumer Protection Department does not currently have the expertise or offer the services for regulation certification of Radiation Emitting Medical Devices (including MRI machines and X-Ray machines etc.).
Source: bit.ly/4iKKIfi

2. The National Human Rights Commission of India, having taken Suo-Moto cognizance of a recent report concerning the negligent transfusion of blood to a patient in Rajasthan, has issued Notices to the Chief Secretary of the State of Rajasthan to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances of negligent blood transfusion.
Source: bit.ly/3ZCj4Z0

3. The Indian Minister of State for Health has clarified that the Central Drug Regulator, currently does not have any intention or proposal to ban Rantidine in the country, and that State Drug Controllers have been instructed to test for the levels of possible carcinogen N-nitrosodimethylamine in the wake of a warning issued by the United States Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency.
Source: bit.ly/3P2aKgf
Source: bit.ly/49GB4pR

4. India’s Central Drugs Regulator, in supersession of an earlier Amendment in 2022, has issued an amendment to the Medical Devices Rules, specifying laboratories, and the Medical Devices that the laboratories are designated to test.
Source: bit.ly/3PnjiyF

5. The European Medicines Agency is set to implement to the proposed Electronic Product Information program to adapt pharmaceutical label information for easier representation on e-commerce platforms after conducting a successful pilot program.
Source: bit.ly/3DyWkS8

Posted on

TOP 5 HEALTH LAWS & POLICY UPDATES

Dear Reader, We are happy to share the most interesting legal and policy updates concerning health industry that we read today. We hope you enjoy reading it.

Human Rights body to probe sale of drugs with identical brand names in India
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in India has taken suo motu cognizance of a newspaper report which stated that many drugs in India were being sold with identical brand names for treating different medical conditions. NHRC has issued notice to Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Central Drugs Regulator, asking for detailed report within four (04) weeks.
Source: bit.ly/3SB8WfB

India’s Environment Regulator to take action against unregistered recyclers and refurbisher of battery waste
India’s Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has issued direction to all State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) and Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) to ensure compliance with Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022 by recyclers and refurbishers of battery waste. CPCB has directed SPCB/PCC to carry out drives identifying informal / illegal battery waste recyclers, and physically verify facilities of existing waste recyclers. All battery waste recyclers and refurbishers are obligated to register under Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022.
Source: bit.ly/3OGJTGI

Difference of manufacturing process will not take away ability of manufacturer of product manufacturer to enforce product patent, if the product is covered by Product-by-Process Patent: High Court
The Delhi High Court of India has held that a product-by-process patent would be enforceable even if the alleged infringement relates to manufacturing of a product using process which is different than the one claimed in patent. The High Court was dealing with a matter relating to manufacture of a compound called Ferric Carboxymaltose (FCM) which was patented by the Innovator. The defendants had raised an argument that they are not covered by the patent because they were following a different process to manufacture FCM. However, the argument was rejected by the High Court.
Source: bit.ly/3OGtr9C

Manufacturers of medical devices who do not wish to disclose name and address of manufacturing facility, may apply for neutral code on central portal
The Indian medical devices regulator, Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) has direct all the manufacturers of medical devices for export purposes to submit the applications for neutral code through online system of medical devices portal only. If a neutral code is declared on the label of package, it does not have to bear the name and address of the manufacturer. The online portal is now functional to accept the applications.
Source: bit.ly/3SWgTxn

Recommendations for COVID legislation received from Law Commission of India
The Law Commission of India has submitted its report titled “A Comprehensive Review of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897″ to the Government of India. The commission has recommended either to amend the existing law or enact the new legislation to address the underlying gaps in the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897. The 1897 was relied on by the Government of India to introduce various controls during the COVID pandemic, including lock downs.
Source: bit.ly/3SWMdMm