The Ministry of Health is working on the issue of servicing foreign medical equipment with the relevant departments, Aleksey Kuznetsov, assistant to the head of the ministry, told Interfax.
„Ensuring proper after-sales service is one of the important aspects of the reliable functioning of the healthcare system and is under the constant control of the Ministry of Health and Roszdravnadzor,” he said. „The necessary decisions are being worked out together with the departments concerned.”
According to him, the current restriction procedure allows the government to grant temporary export permits for goods, including parts of medical equipment. Such permits may be issued on the basis of proposals from federal executive authorities, if they are agreed with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Economic Development.
According to Kommersant, the Association of International Manufacturers of Medical Devices (IMEDA) asked the Russian government to ease the restrictions imposed in March (Decree No. 311 of March 9, 2022) on the export of equipment from the country.
According to the organization, because of them, suppliers of foreign medical equipment, including CT, MRI and ultrasound devices, cannot take equipment and its parts for repair at service centers of manufacturers, mainly located in the United States and Europe. IMEDA believes that the situation may lead to a secondary shortage of medical equipment, including high-tech.