Device Recalls and the Recalling Company's Website

An ongoing issue with respect to medical device recalls is getting the information to the right people in a timely manner so that appropriate action can be taken. For Class I recalls, this is often addressed by one or more means of professional and public communications, including after-the-fact posting of such recalls by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). One resource that could be included in a recall strategy is the recalling company's own website where the information could be readily available in close association with other information on the product, and where it would be readily found by someone making a product specific inquiry. However an investigation of 13 Class I recalls from the 4th quarter of 2010 shows that only four of these included a web presence, and even among these, the recall information was not necessarily easily found, nor closely linked, to other product information.