Centre Directs States to Crack Down on Reuse of Single-Use Medical Devices in Hospitals

The Union Health Ministry, through the DGHS, has directed all states and Union Territories to strictly enforce the prohibition on reusing single-use medical devices and disposable surgical items in public and private hospitals, citing reports of devices being sterilised and reused — and in some cases charged to patients at full cost.

Awaaz Punjab Investigations Desk24 October 20263 min readRead in all 3 languages

New Delhi, October 24 — The Union Health Ministry has directed states and Union Territories to ensure strict enforcement of the prohibition on reusing single-use medical devices and disposable surgical items in healthcare facilities, The Hindu BusinessLine reported. The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said the practice had been observed in certain private and corporate hospitals, particularly in specialised departments such as cardiology, nephrology, oncology, cardiothoracic and vascular surgery, and neurosurgery.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

Single-use devices are equipment, instruments or supplies engineered and labelled to be used on a single patient during a single procedure and then discarded, rather than reprocessed or sterilised for reuse, BusinessLine reported. The DGHS said reusing them could expose patients to cross-infection, device malfunction, loss of performance and other procedure-related complications, and raised concerns over patient safety, infection prevention, regulatory compliance and healthcare expenditure.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

Oct 16, 2026Date of the DGHS letter to states and UTs

All public + private hospitalsFacilities covered by the prohibition

5+ specialities namedCardiology, nephrology, oncology, CTVS and neurosurgery among those flagged

1940 / 2017 / 2010Acts and rules the DGHS said reuse could violate: Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Medical Devices Rules, Clinical Establishments Act

The letter also flagged instances in which the full cost of these items was reportedly being charged to patients or reimbursed by government authorities even when the devices were reused, BusinessLine reported. Such practices could constitute violations of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, the Medical Devices Rules, 2017, the Clinical Establishments Act, 2010, and infection-control and biomedical-waste requirements, the DGHS said.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

The Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) welcomed the DGHS directive of October 16, 2026 — addressed to all states and UTs, the DCGI and CGHS — prohibiting reuse in all healthcare organisations, public and private, ANI reported. AiMeD forum coordinator Rajiv Nath said: 'This is a patient-first decision. Single-use means single-use.' He added that where a product is used contrary to its labelled instructions, any failure or harm cannot be attributed to the manufacturer.

Source: ANI via AiMeD statement

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