Fifty different legal standards foolish

The July 10 letter by M. John Hefner (Patients' rights must be preserved) mischaracterizes the value of unified national standards for medical devices – standards that provide common-sense rules to help protect access for patients and doctors to life-saving and life-sustaining treatment options.

The lawsuit-driven alternative would create a patchwork of 50 different – and potentially conflicting – laws and regulations. The the only parties likely to benefit from such a litigation-driven system will be personal injury lawyers.