Pharmac welcomes new Director Medical Devices
 In June, a dedicated medical devices directorate was established to lead Te Pātaka Whaioranga - Pharmac’s work on the management of hospital medical devices. We’re pleased to announce that Catherine Epps has been appointed to the role of Director Medical Devices.
Catherine has held senior and executive leadership roles across private and public healthcare organisations for over ten years.
She has led a broad portfolio at WorkSafe. This included leading WorkSafe’s contribution to reducing harm to health at work, in areas such as carcinogens, mentally healthy work, and musculoskeletal harm.
She is a fellow of the Australasian College of Health Service Managers, and originally trained as a Speech-language Therapist working with people with a range of disabilities. Catherine also enjoys a governance career with current Board director roles at Mary Potter Hospice Wellington, and as Deputy Chair Stroke Foundation NZ.
Catherine will start with us on Monday 28 August 2023. |
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Devices dashboard
How the national contracts are tracking as of August 2023
| 161,000 devices under contract covering $536m of annual hospital expenditure on medical devices. |
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Pharmac joins international collaboration to advance use of health technology assessments
Pharmac has joined an international collaboration of health technology assessment (HTA) government agencies.
“Partnering with world leading HTA agencies from Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada is a milestone as we reach 30 years of providing benefits to New Zealand,” says Pharmac’s Chief Executive Sarah Fitt. “By understanding the experiences of these countries and tapping into global expertise, we are better placed to anticipate challenges and ultimately improve the wellbeing of our communities.”
The collaboration focusses on evaluating medicines and medical devices, as well as identifying new ones (horizon scanning). They also discuss up-to-date methods for health technology assessments.
Fitt is delighted that Pharmac has this opportunity, “we are committed to enhancing our decision making and are aware of the importance of health technology assessments, particularly for hospital medical devices – a critical area of our work. By joining this group and sitting at the table with other countries, we can fast-track our improvement efforts and learn how others are maximising their resources.”
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Pharmac attends HealthTech week
In late June, Pharmac sent 12 kaimahi to HealthTech week in Auckland.
“It was a great opportunity to talk to the HealthTech sector about a range of topics – particularly our work with hospital medical devices,” says Pharmac’s Director of Strategy, Policy, and Performance Michael Johnson. After the opening address by Dr Diana Safarti, Johnson led a presentation about ‘moving forward together in a changing environment’. “In the presentation, we discussed our progress on the recommendations from the Pharmac Review and the Government response,” says Johnson. “We focussed on our role in the national management of hospital medical devices and our work with Te Whatu Ora to create a connected, innovative, and collaborative national system that puts people at its core.” Read more about Pharmac attending HealthTech week. |
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Participating in the Health System Catalogue (HSC)
Thank you to all the medical device suppliers publishing products and pricing information to the Health System Catalogue (HSC). The target date of 31 December 2022 has passed, and there are still a large number who have not published data or have only provided item information.
Pharmac is supporting the HSC by including a clause in our agreements to ensure compliance with the HSC requirements. We will be engaging with contracted suppliers to ensure that they are publishing data to the HSC. So, for those with further data to publish, or in the process of preparing data, we encourage you to complete this work as soon as possible.
If you need to discuss any issues you are having, please get in touch with Ian Malone, HSC Supplier Engagement Lead, at ian.malone@nzhp.health.nz.
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| Category |
Supplier |
Date |
| Consultations notified since June 2023 |
| Rehabilitation equipment, patient positioning products and supports |
Foot Science International Ltd
Walrus NZ Ltd |
3 August |
| Adhesives, sealants, and haemostats |
W M Bamford & Co Limited
Medtronic New Zealand Limited |
3 August |
| Sterilisation and decontamination equipment and associated consumables |
Reynard Health Supplies Limited |
17 July |
| Non-invasive ventilation and consumables, medical and surgical instruments, and power tools |
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Limited |
11 July |
| Infusion devices, medical imaging, software, and associated products |
Bard Australia Pty Limited |
5 July |
| Adhesives, sealants, and haemostats |
Universal Specialties Limited
Balance Medical Limited
Surgical Supplies Limited |
4 July |
| Agreements notified since June 2023 |
| Surgical implants, and medical and surgical instruments and power tools |
Stryker New Zealand Limited |
10 August |
| Needles and syringes |
Australian Health 888 (New Zealand) Limited
New Zealand Medical and Scientific Limited |
9 August |
| Adhesives, sealants, and haemostats |
Universal Specialties Limited
Balance Medical Limited
Surgical Supplies Limited |
9 August |
| Surgical implants, medical and surgical instruments, power tools, and medical imaging |
Medtronic New Zealand Limited |
13 July |
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. |
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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.
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We'd love to hear from youWe 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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