The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has reestablished the Central Expert Panel to assess the appropriate compensation for patients fitted with defective Articular Surface Replacement (ASR) hip implants, originally manufactured by DePuy International Limited, UK, now operating as Johnson & Johnson Pvt Ltd, in India.
The Ministry announced that the Central Expert Panel, led by Dr. Ajay Kumar Shukla, an Orthopaedics Professor at RML Hospital, has been restructured to evaluate the fair compensation and medical treatment for those impacted by these defective ASR hip implants.
“Patients suffering disabilities and other problems from the faulty ASR hip implants can contact either the Central Expert Panel or the State Level Committee depending on their preference,” they noted.
If affected individuals wish to bring their case to the Central Expert Panel, they may reach out via email, send their documents through the mail, or deliver them directly to the Legal Cell of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (HQ) in New Delhi.
Patients who have already submitted claims to the State or Union Territory committees or the Central Expert Panel need not submit a new application, according to the statement. Those choosing to approach the State Level Committee should write to the relevant State or Union Territory Drugs Controllers, who will serve as the State Level Committee’s member secretary.
A significant expert report from 2018 highlighted that the ASR hip implants were defective, leading to a spike in revision surgeries both globally and in India. Following this, a Central Expert Panel was set up to determine the compensation amounts.
In September 2018, Dr. R K Arya from Safdarjung Hospital led the initial formation of a Central Expert Panel to set compensation levels and urged States to form respective State Level Committees for reviewing affected patients’ cases.
In November 2018, the Ministry endorsed a compensation framework, considering the age and health impact factors on the patients.
The report from the expert committee indicated that many ASR recipients began facing severe adverse effects, leading to premature revision surgeries. Because of the high occurrence of such procedures and adverse reactions worldwide, the company had globally withdrawn the ASR from the market.