When it comes to advancing medical device safety in the United States, the glass has long been half empty. This is because the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) flagship initiative to improve postmarket surveillance-the creation of unique device identifiers (UDIs)-remains largely disconnected from the rest of the American healthcare system. However, a pending proposal before the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) has the opportunity to help fill this key regulatory gap. 1