BEIJING - China's health authority on Tuesday issued a circular to caution local government agencies and hospitals against inferior or fake implantable medical devices.

Out of concerns over safety and public health, the National Health and Family Planning Commission called for greater efforts to ensure that the government-backed centralized purchasing of implants for public hospitals is done properly.

Government organs or hospitals should have formal procedures for checking the quality and manufacturing permits of enterprises from which medical implant purchases are planned, the circular said.

It said medical institutions should enhance management of information pertaining to their purchasing and clinical uses of implantable devices, making is possible to trace the identity and status of all implants.

Moreover, hospitals are asked to strictly follow the system for reporting any adverse effects from implantable devices in a timely manner, according to the circular.