For almost two decades, device makers have sent reports of incidents to databases hidden from public view.
The FDA said it might reclassify the widely used devices featured in a recent Kaiser Health News investigation.
The Food and Drug Administration has let medical device companies file reports of injuries and malfunctions outside a widely scrutinized public database, leaving doctors and medical sleuths in the dark.
High-profile failures of implantable medical devices — such as certain hip joints and pelvic mesh — have prompted the Food and Drug Administration to revise its assessment process.