ISO 13485:2003 specifies requirements for a quality management system where an organization needs to demonstrate its ability to provide medical devices and related services that consistently meet customer requirements and regulatory requirements applicable to medical devices and related services.

The primary objective of ISO 13485:2003 is to facilitate harmonized medical device regulatory requirements for quality management systems. As a result, it includes some particular requirements for medical devices and excludes some of the requirements of ISO 9001 that are not appropriate as regulatory requirements. Because of these exclusions, organizations whose quality management systems conform to this International Standard cannot claim conformity to ISO 9001 unless their quality management systems conform to all the requirements of ISO 9001.

All requirements of ISO 13485:2003 are specific to organizations providing medical devices, regardless of the type or size of the organization.

If regulatory requirements permit exclusions of design and development controls, this can be used as a justification for their exclusion from the quality management system. These regulations can provide alternative arrangements that are to be addressed in the quality management system. It is the responsibility of the organization to ensure that claims of conformity with ISO 13485:2003 reflect exclusion of design and development controls.

If any requirement(s) in Clause 7 of ISO 13485:2003 is(are) not applicable due to the nature of the medical device(s) for which the quality management system is applied, the organization does not need to include such a requirement(s) in its quality management system.

The processes required by ISO 13485:2003, which are applicable to the medical device(s), but which are not performed by the organization, are the responsibility of the organization and are accounted for in the organization's quality management system.

While it remains a stand-alone document, ISO 13485 is generally harmonized with ISO 9001. A fundamental difference, however, is that ISO 9001 requires the organization to demonstrate continual improvement, whereas ISO 13485 requires only that they demonstrate the quality system is implemented and maintained.

Other specific differences include:

• The promotion and awareness of regulatory requirements as a management responsibility. An example of market specific regulatory requirements is 21 CFR 820 Quality System Regulation for Medical Devices sold in the United States.
• controls in the work environment to ensure product safety
• focus on risk management activities and design control activities during product development
• specific requirements for inspection and traceability for implantable devices
• specific requirements for documentation and validation of processes for sterile medical devices
• specific requirements for verification of the effectiveness of corrective and preventive actions

Compliance with ISO 13485 is often seen as the first step in achieving compliance with European regulatory requirements. The conformity of Medical Devices and In-vitro Diagnostic Medical Device according to EEC-decrees 93/42/EEC, 90/385/EEC and 98/79/EEC must be assessed before sale is permitted. The preferred method to prove conformity is the certification of the Quality Management System according ISO 9001 and/or ISO 13485 and ISO 14971 by a Notified Body. The result of a positive assessment is the certificate of conformity allowing the CE mark and the permission to sell the medical device in the European Union.

This standard adopted by CEN as EN ISO 13485:2003/AC: 2007 is harmonized with respect to the European medical device directives 93/42/EEC, 90/385/EEC and 98/79/EC.

ISO 13485 is now considered to be inline standard and requirement for medical devices even with "Global Harmonization Task Force Guidelines" (GHTF) The GHTF guidelines are slowly becoming universal standards for design, manufacture, export and sales of various medical devices.