Pharmac Device Advice (Issue 54 - April 2023)

on 14 April
Jump to new agreements and consultations  |  April 2023  |  Issue 54
Come see Pharmac at a conference
Pharmac staff will be at two conferences this June – The CSANZ (Cardiology Society of Australia and NZ) conference on the 15-17 June and the MTANZ (Medical Technology Association of NZ) HealthTech conference on the 26-29 June.
 
“We will have a stand at each conference and will be presenting at the HealthTech, MTANZ conference,” says Pharmac Director of Operations, Lisa Williams.
 
“This is a fantastic opportunity to talk to us about our devices work and ask any questions.
 
“We look forward to seeing you there!”  
 
Register for the MTANZ HealthTech conference and the CSANZ conference.
Devices dashboard
How the national contracts are tracking as of April 2023
162,000 devices under contract covering $530m of annual hospital expenditure on medical devices.
 
 
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Health System Catalogue (HSC) update
The HSC continues to grow, with close to 160,000 items covered by it currently.
In September 2022, Pharmac consulted with medical device suppliers about the HSC requirements for publishing products and pricing information, and how this would be reflected in our agreements. 
A draft clause was provided as part of this consultation and, following feedback, has now been finalised. We have begun including this clause in our agreements and will be including it in all future agreements.  
 
Collaborating with Te Whatu Ora
Pharmac and Te Whatu Ora have been working together to identify opportunities for getting good value for money from a range of devices. As part of this, we have released three requests for proposals (RFP) for the supply of: Once agreements from these processes are in place, Te Whatu Ora will be looking at the mix of products that offers the best value and where changes to usage may be required to achieve this.
These procurement process will help to secure good quality products and free up funding to invest in a range of health products and services.
 
Working together on the scope of medical devices
Last year, Pharmac asked its sector partners how we should describe the range of medical device products that could be listed on the Pharmaceutical Schedule.
Together, we established the scope of medical devices that Pharmac will consider.
We’re now looking at how we’ll work with our sectors partners on processes to receive and assess requests for new listings or listing changes.
 
Category Supplier Date
Consultations released since 10 February 2023
Surgical implants, medical and surgical instruments, and power tools Paragon Care Group NZ Ltd 21 March
Agreements notified since 10 February 2023
Laboratory medical devices Immunz Ltd 5 April
Surgical implants, medical and surgical instruments and power tools Integra Neurosciences Pty Ltd 13 March
Medical imaging, software, and associated products Quantum Healthcare NZ 8 March 
Dental and oral health products; and sterilisation and decontamination equipment and associated consumables Ivoclar Vivadent Ltd 13 February
Dental and oral health products Geistlich Pharma NZ 13 February

We notify all new supplier agreements and list all new proposals on the Consultations and Decisions page on the Pharmac website. You can also keep track of what’s happening in each category on our hospital devices page.
 
Ongoing supply challenges for medical devices
We are working with suppliers, Te Whatu Ora hospitals, and the Ministry of Health, to minimise the impact of supply issues for hospitals and people in care.
If you are experiencing any issues in the supply of Pharmac contracted medical devices, email our email our contract management team.
 
We'd love to hear from you

We welcome any feedback on our work, our website, or this newsletter. You can email enquiry@pharmac.govt.nz or contact the person identified in a specific consultation or notification.
 
Noho ora mai rā!
 

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