• Seira Climent-Ballester and Juan Selva-Otaolaurruchi.
• Servicio de Farmacia, Hospital General Universitario de Alicante. Alicante. España. selva_jua@gva.es.
• Farm Hosp. 2020 Jun 12; 44 (7): 21-23.

AbstractMedical devices have become essential to the prevention and control of the  COVID-19 pandemic, being crucial for health professionals and patients in  particular, and the population in general. It is important to be aware of the laws  that regulate the management, distribution, and control of medical devices.  Article 82 of the Spanish Law 29/2006 on Guarantees and Rational Use of  Medicines and Medical Devices establishes that it is the responsibility of Hospital  Pharmacy Services "to participate in and coordinate the purchase of medicines and medical devices in the hospital to ensure an efficient acquisition  and rational use of medical devices". For this reason, working groups of the Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacy and other scientific societies have issued technical guidelines and consensus statements to provide technical support and updated information on the use of masks, individual  protection equipments and other medical devices. In addition, the shortage of  medical devices caused by the high demand has resulted in the uncontrolled  production and distribution of medical devices. This phenomenon, added to the  fraudulent selling of medical devices, highlights the need for a closer surveillance of the market to guarantee the efficacy and safety of available medical devices. A rational use of medical devices is necessary to ensure the availability and safety of these products, which requires the involvement of  different stakeholders, including hospital pharmacists. Thus, it is essential that  hospital pharmacists receive specific training in technical aspects concerning the possession and use of medical devices. This will help guarantee an effective and safe use of medical products. The acquisition and use of medical  devices requires a keen understanding of the technical and legal aspects  concerning these products, which makes hospital pharmacists essential for the  integral management of medical devices.Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

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