The Federal government is moving to increase oversight of medical devices, including a move last week to better regulate automated pumps that deliver intravenous drugs, food and other solutions to patients.

The infusion pumps are among the most problematic medical devices on the market, with more than 10,000 complaints annually and more that 75 product recalls over the last five years; patients who are injured by a defective medical device should contact an experienced New York City medical malpractice attorney to discuss their rights.

The Food and Drug Administration cited the 10,000 complaints in issuing preliminary guidelines that will require manufacturers of infusion pumps to supply the agency with more testing data on the devices before they can be approved for sale. The government said it has received 710 reports of patient deaths in the last five years, although FDA officials say they think the true number may be significantly higher. Causes of death have included problems with the devices, including drug overdoses resulting from human error in loading the pumps or software malfunctions within the pumps, according to the New York Times.

An estimated 2 million pumps are in use in hospitals and clinics and hundreds of thousands are used by patients at home. The devices deliver intravenous food, fluids, pain medication, insulin and cancer treatments.

The new oversight comes as the Obama Administration moves to rehabilitate the agency, which has been criticized in recent years as little more than a rubber stamp for big business. Under particular scrutiny, is the agency's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, which is charged with overseeing critical medical products, including heart implants, imaging equipment and infusion pumps.

Dr. Jeffrey E. Shuren, the center's new director, said the agency has determined that the pumps could be made far safer and that the agency's aggressive new approach could soon extend to other types of medical devices.

While tougher enforcement is certainly welcome from a patient-safety standpoint, it is also another example of the critical need for patients to aggressively protect their own rights when dealing with the medical industry. As we reported earlier this month on our New York Injury Lawyer blog, a report found positive reviews of Avandia, a controversial diabetes medication linked to heart damage, were apparently influenced by payments from pharmaceutical companies.