Collaboration with the mesh industry: who needs who?

Abstract

Professional physician organisations should be the coordinators of all stakeholders involved in the field of urogynaecology. That means that, together with representatives of the patients (“patient organisations”) they develop a priority agenda. This agenda involves the topics that need the highest level of attention, either because knowledge in this area is insufficient, or because existing knowledge is not optimally implemented. The next step is to discuss this list with representatives of industry, patient representatives, insurance companies and organisations with an intention to donate money to women’s health. Together, we can design a roadmap for the coming years that involves the top priority topics that need to be dealt with within the available budget. The organisations facilitate the interaction between the different stakeholders, communicate the timetable of these actions not only to their members, but also to society at large.