Hospital medical devices: building a well-managed system for the long term
 Pharmac’s Hospital Medical Devices Programme is working to improve national consistency, transparency, equity, and sustainability of expenditure on hospital medical devices.
“In 2023, Pharmac set up a new Medical Devices Directorate to lead the work on the procurement and supply chain management of hospital medical devices in Health New Zealand hospitals,” says Catherine Epps, Pharmac’s Director, Medical Devices.
“Since then, we have completed recruitment, and by doing so, added a range of specialist skills we need to build an optimised medical device service.”
At a high level, the Medical Devices Directorate is working on 4 workstreams:
- Building the ICT systems needed to manage the medical devices national list.
- Driving value through proactive strategic and commercial management of the medical devices national list (as demonstrated in the piece below).
- Designing the end-to-end process to manage all changes to the medical devices national list.
- Working with our partners and stakeholders to inform the above activities.
“The hospital medical devices programme aims to support a healthcare system that meets the needs of those who currently face barriers to accessing or using hospital medical devices,” says Epps.
“We look forward to continuing to work with you to develop effective, efficient, and sustainable systems for hospital medical device management.” |
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Devices dashboard
How the national contracts are tracking as of April 2024
| 164,000 devices under contract covering $584m of annual hospital expenditure on medical devices. |
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Optimising the adhesives, sealants, and haemostats category
In 2023, Pharmac released an Request for Proposals (RFP) for the supply of adhesives, sealants and haemostats in collaboration with Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora.
As a direct result of this RFP (and highlighted in the RFP documents), Health New Zealand planned to review the selection of Medical Devices it purchases in this category (“optimisation”).
To date 10 suppliers now have Pharmac contracts in place for the supply of adhesives, sealants, and haemostats and we thank these suppliers for engaging constructively with the RFP process.
Pharmac and Health New Zealand are pleased to announce that the first major change from this optimisation activity has now been progressed, with Northland Hospital beginning transition to a new (Pharmac contracted) supplier for a range of adhesive products used in their surgical department.
Pharmac and Health New Zealand welcomes the positive engagement clinicians and procurement staff have had with the process, and the financial and clinical benefits that will arise from these changes. We look forward to engaging with all stakeholders as we progress through the next stages of this work. |
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Pharmac Contracts 101
Supplier Reporting and Change Requests
Pharmac agreements contain contractual requirements for suppliers to report sale and supply information. Part 5, clause 24 of our agreement terms detail these requirements, including KPI Reports (KPI), Price and Volume Data (PVD) and Supply Issues notifications.
Regular reporting is an important part of our engagement with suppliers on Pharmac contracts. KPI and PVD reports are due on the last business day of January, April, July, and October in each year in respect of the previous three calendar months. When change requests (new listings, delisting, corrections, or other reviews) are considered by Pharmac, we expect all supplier reporting is up to date.
Up to date reporting allows Contract Managers to have all the information to consider the impact of supplier change requests. Delays in supplier reporting may lead to delays in change request processing.
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Health Sector Catalogue
The Health System Catalogue (HSC) is increasingly becoming the primary source of product data for the health system. It will help us improve data alignment and unlock future opportunities for both suppliers and health system users.
The latest update from HSC shows:
- 189 suppliers are live
- 156 suppliers have published pricing
- 73% of suppliers are on Pharmac contracts
- 197,836 active items in supplier catalogues
- 116,742 prices published.
If you need to discuss any issues you are having, or you would like to publish a data set, please contact Ian Malone Supplier Engagement Lead.
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Red Sea Conflict
Pharmac is encouraging suppliers to advise us of any potential impact on medical device supply arising from the Red Sea conflict. Please contact your Contract Manager as soon as possible if you anticipate any supply issues. |
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| Category |
Supplier |
Date |
| Consultations notified since 24 January 2024 |
| Medical imaging, software, and associated products |
Global Medical Solutions (NZ) Limited |
22 February |
| Surgical implants, medical and surgical instruments, and power tools |
B. Braun New Zealand Pty Limited |
19 February |
| Medical imaging, software, and associated products |
Guerbet Australia Pty Ltd |
15 February |
| Adhesives, sealants, and haemostats |
Device Technologies New Zealand Pty Limited |
14 February |
| Agreements notified since 13 February 2024 |
| Medical imaging, software, and associated products |
Philips New Zealand Commercial Limited |
11 April |
| Surgical implants, medical and surgical instruments, and power tools |
B Braun New Zealand Pty Limited |
27 March |
| Medical imaging, software, and associated products |
Global Medical Solutions (NZ) Ltd |
26 March |
| Medical imaging, software, and associated products |
Guerbet Australia Pty Ltd |
18 March |
| Adhesives, sealants, and haemostats |
Device Technologies New Zealand Pty Limited |
14 March |
| Medical imaging, software, and associated products |
Technisonic Systems 2013 Limited |
29 February |
| Dental and oral health products |
Ortho Medics Limited |
28 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. |
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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, please 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 devices@pharmac.govt.nz or contact the person identified in a specific consultation or notification. Noho ora mai rā!
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