John Robinson's Blog (258)

Course "How to build a complete Safety, Health & Environment Management System through Standards & Practices" has been pre-approved by RAPS as eligible for up to 12 credits towards a participant's RAC recertification upon full completion.

Overview:

A management system, by definition, is a process by which a function or…

The Design History File (DHF), the Technical File (TF) and the Design Dossier (DD) are core regulatory documents for a medical device. This is how one can understand the central difference between them: the Design History File (along with Design Control), is the most important among the regulatory documents that the FDA requires for medical devices, while the Technical File and Design Dossier are documents that serve the same purpose, however, within the EU’s regulatory…

Preparing premarket submissions that win regulatory approval is a complex task, even for the most seasoned professional in the medical devices industry. This is because of the highly stringent nature of the regulatory approval pathways, namely the Premarket Approval (PMA) process and FDA regulatory 510(k) clearance.

What makes preparing premarket…

Overview:

Supplier selection and management is one of the critical issues for medical device manufacturers. Suppliers provide materials and services to the device manufacturer, which means that they can be critical to performance and delivery of your device. Neither the FDA nor your notified body regulates your suppliers (with…

Overview:

This course is designed to provide a microbiology-focused education about all aspects of water systems and how biofilm manages to thrive there. Prior microbiological education or training, though a plus, is not a requirement because engineers and other non-biologists also need this training if they are involved with any aspect of water…

Statistics for the non-statistician: Isn't this some kind of a contradiction in terms? Why does a non-statistician need to rake his head over statistics? Is statistics a life skill or a lifesaving one? If it is not, why is statistics for the non-statistician necessary? At first glance, statistics for the non-statistician may appear unnecessary and redundant,…

Management systems should be expansive and versatile, as having such a system makes sense for organizations. A management system is a mechanism that helps streamline an organization’s day to day functioning without hassles. It should put the organization on the path it chooses to take by putting in place a set of documents that is prescriptive and…

Compliance for medical devices is a very broad and vast topic. When one talks of compliance for medical devices, one needs to keep in mind the various regulations that the FDA has put in place for manufacturers of medical devices to comply with. The FDA requires strict compliance with its laws and requirements because it is charged with the task of ensuring…

ISO 14971:2012 and IEC 62304:2006 are related but different global standards for risk management pertaining to software used in medical devices. Judicious application of these two standards is the way to go for medical device companies.

ISO 14971 and IEC 62304:2006 are global standards that govern risk management and lay out regulations and guidelines for…

Japan is the world's third largest market for medical devices, after the US and Europe. Ironically, many of the world's medical device manufacturers find language barriers for communicating with Japanese regulatory authorities a greater barrier than passing through the regulatory maze! The regulatory filing requirements for medical devices in Japan are…

Medical device reporting and recalls have enormous benefits for the medical device company and the public if implemented properly. They can prevent use…

Though short in length,HIPAA Security Rule principles are well defined in some areas, but vague in some others, making implementation of these areas difficult.

HIPAA Security Rules are an offshoot of the Privacy Rule. While Privacy Rule concerns itself with Protected Health Information (PHI) in general, the HIPAA Security Rule (SR) concerns itself…

In order to ensure GMP compliance, pharmaceutical laboratories have to devise a holistic and long term plan that covers all aspects of the laboratory's activities.

Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) requirements for laboratories have been set out by various regulatory bodies. The aim of GMP compliance for a pharmaceutical laboratory is to ensure…

Software Validation Process for 21 CFR Part 11 is all about authenticity and integrity of electronic signatures and records. Care should be taken to avoid confusion and get validation right.

The FDA’s Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is a collection of laws that regulate the various government agencies. Different titles of the CFR govern respective regulated…