ISO 13485 Medical devices — Quality management systems — Requirements for regulatory purposes is an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard published for the first time in 1996; it represents the requirements for a comprehensive quality management system for the design and manufacture of medical.
Regulatory requirements are increasingly stringent throughout every step of a product’s life cycle, including service and delivery. Increasingly, organizations in the industry are expected to demonstrate their quality management processes and ensure best practice in everything they do. This internationally agreed standard sets out the requirements for a quality management system specific to the medical devices industry.
What are the benefits of being certified to ISO 13485?
Whether you are looking to operate internationally or expand locally, ISO 13485 Certification can help you improve overall performance, eliminate uncertainty, and widen market opportunities. Companies with this certification communicate a commitment to quality to both customers and regulators.
- Increase access to more markets worldwide with certification
- Outline how to review and improve processes across your organization
- Increase efficiency, cut costs and monitor supply chain performance
- Demonstrate that you produce safer and more effective medical devices
- Meet regulatory requirements and customer expectations
Changes between ISO 13485 :2003 & 13485 :2016
Now ISO 13485:2016 certification standard has come with many changes. Few important changes are as follows-
Flexible – New standard ISO 13485:2016 is more flexible as it allows you to make exclusions in section 6, 7 & 8 if it can be justified while in old standard ISO 13485:2013 exclusion was permissible only in section 7. In this way new standard ISO 13485:2016 is more flexible.
Regulations – In old standard ISO 13485:2013 a QMS had to established based on requirements of the standard & product, while in new version ISO 13485:2006 emphasis has been given on meeting regulatory requirements. Now QMS has to be established encompassing applicable regulatory requirements.
Risk Based Approach – In old version risk analysis approach was applicable to ‘product realization’ only, while in new version ISO 13485:2016 risk based approach is applicable to all processes of QMS
Enhanced Record Keeping – New standard ISO 13485:2016 expects you to keeps record of supplier monitoring, evaluation & re-evaluation. Now privacy has to be maintained in maintaining confidential health information.
Product Realization – New standard ISO 13485:2016 says to establish procedures for storage, handling of products, traceability, measurement & revalidation in addition to requirements of old standard ISO 13485 which required procedure for verification, validation, monitoring, inspection & testing
Training of Users – The new standard ISO 13485:2016 says to educate / train the user about product safety & regulatory norms.