Refurbishing, Reconditioning, Rebuilding, Remarketing, Remanufacturing, and Servicing of Medical Devices Performed by Third-Party Entities and Original Equipment Manufacturers; Extension of Comment Period
Federal Register, Volume 81 Issue 79 (Monday, April 25, 2016)
Federal Register Volume 81, Number 79 (Monday, April 25, 2016)
Proposed Rules
Pages 24041-24042
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov
FR Doc No: 2016-09443
Page 24041
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
21 CFR Part 820
Docket No. FDA-2016-N-0436
Refurbishing, Reconditioning, Rebuilding, Remarketing, Remanufacturing, and Servicing of Medical Devices Performed by Third-
Party Entities and Original Equipment Manufacturers; Extension of Comment Period
AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.
ACTION: Notification; extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is extending the comment period for the document entitled ``Refurbishing, Reconditioning, Rebuilding, Remarketing, Remanufacturing, and Servicing of Medical Devices Performed by Third-Party Entities and Original Equipment Manufacturers'' that appeared in the Federal Register of March 4, 2016. In the document, FDA requested comments about the quality, safety, and continued effectiveness of medical devices that have been subject to one or more of these activities that are performed by both original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and third parties, including health care establishments. The Agency is taking this action due to the unanticipated high-level of interest from interested persons.
DATES: FDA is extending the comment period on the document published March 4, 2016 (81 FR 11477). Submit either electronic or written comments by June 3, 2016.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments as follows:
Electronic Submissions
Submit electronic comments in the following way:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted electronically, including attachments, to http://www.regulations.gov will be posted to the docket unchanged. Because your comment will be made public, you are solely responsible for ensuring that your comment does not include any confidential information that you or a third party may not wish to be posted, such as medical information, your or anyone else's Social Security number, or confidential business information, such as a manufacturing process. Please note that if you include your name, contact information, or other information that identifies you in the body of your comments, that information will be posted on http://www.regulations.gov.
If you want to submit a comment with confidential information that you do not wish to be made available to the public, submit the comment as a written/paper submission and in the manner detailed (see ``Written/Paper Submissions'' and ``Instructions'').
Written/Paper Submissions
Submit written/paper submissions as follows:
Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for written/paper submissions): Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
For written/paper comments submitted to the Division of Dockets Management, FDA will post your comment, as well as any attachments, except for information submitted, marked and identified, as confidential, if submitted as detailed in ``Instructions.''
Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket No. FDA-2016-N-0436 for ``Refurbishing, Reconditioning, Rebuilding, Remarketing, Remanufacturing, and Servicing of Medical Devices Performed by Third-Party Entities and Original Equipment Manufacturers; Request for Comments.'' Received comments will be placed in the docket and, except for those submitted as ``Confidential Submissions,'' publicly viewable at http://www.regulations.gov or at the Division of Dockets Management between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Confidential Submissions--To submit a comment with confidential information that you do not wish to be made publicly available, submit your comments only as a written/paper submission. You should submit two copies total. One copy will include the information you claim to be confidential with a heading or cover note that states ``THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.'' The Agency will review this copy, including the claimed confidential information, in its consideration of comments. The second copy, which will have the claimed confidential information redacted/blacked out, will be available for public viewing and posted on http://www.regulations.gov. Submit both copies to the Division of Dockets Management. If you do not wish your name and contact information to be made publicly available, you can provide this information on the cover sheet and not in the body of your comments and you must identify this information as ``confidential.'' Any information marked as ``confidential'' will not be disclosed except in accordance with 21 CFR 10.20 and other applicable disclosure law. For more information about FDA's posting of comments to public dockets, see 80 FR 56469, September 18, 2015, or access the information at: http://www.fda.gov/regulatoryinformation/dockets/default.htm.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or the electronic and written/paper comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov and insert the docket number, found in brackets in the heading of this document, into the ``Search'' box and follow the prompts and/or go to the Division of Dockets Management, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Valerie Flournoy, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 301-796-5495.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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Background
In the Federal Register of March 4, 2016, FDA published a document with a 60-day comment period to request comments on the medical device industry and healthcare community that refurbish, recondition, rebuild, remarket, remanufacture, service, and
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repair medical devices (hereafter termed ``third-party entity or entities''), including radiation-emitting devices subject to the electronic product radiation control (EPRC) provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act). Comments on the service, maintenance, refurbishment, and alteration of medical devices, by third-party entities as well as challenges third-party entities face in maintaining or restoring devices to their original or current specifications will inform FDA when we hold a public meeting later in 2016 to further engage this segment of the device industry and healthcare community.
The Agency has received requests for a 30-day extension of the comment period for the document. Each request conveyed concern that the current 60-day comment period does not allow sufficient time to develop meaningful or thoughtful response to the document on ``Refurbishing, Reconditioning, Rebuilding, Remarketing, Remanufacturing, and Servicing of Medical Devices Performed by Third-Party Entities and Original Equipment Manufacturers.''
FDA has considered the requests and is extending the comment period for the document on ``Refurbishing, Reconditioning, Rebuilding, Remarketing, Remanufacturing, and Servicing of Medical Devices Performed by Third-Party Entities and Original Equipment Manufacturers'' for 30 days, until June 3, 2016. The Agency believes that a 30-day extension allows adequate time for interested persons to submit comments without significantly delaying future workshop on these important issues.
Dated: April 19, 2016.
Leslie Kux,
Associate Commissioner for Policy.
FR Doc. 2016-09443 Filed 4-22-16; 8:45 am
BILLING CODE 4164-01-P
