Pharmac Device Advice (Issue 53 - February 2023)

on 13 April
Jump to new agreements and consultations  |  February 2023  |  Issue 53
Pharmac releases Year in Review 2022
Every year we put out a magazine celebrating our successes and the challenges from the past year – our Year in Review. As well as a wealth of other stories and features about Pharmac, the 2022 edition includes an article on our hospital medical devices work.
 
‘Progressing our hospital medical devices work’ explores the value we are bringing to the health and disability system through our national contracting and category management. As well as greater transparency, sustainability, and consistency in funding decisions and product access, we’ve already achieved savings of more than $100m just through the process of contracting the national list.

“It’s great to see that establishing national contracts for products currently in use is contributing to cost savings,” says Director of Operations Lisa Williams. “That means Te Whatu Ora has more money to invest in hospital services.”
 
Check out the Year in Review 2022 to read the full story and learn about more what Pharmac has achieved this year.
 
Devices dashboard
How the national contracts are tracking as of February 2022
 
158,000 devices from 100+ suppliers
$524m of annual hospital expenditure on medical devices
 
 
Participating in the Health System Catalogue
Thank you to all the medical device suppliers publishing products and pricing information to the Health System Catalogue (HSC).
 
28 of our national contract suppliers are fully publishing to the HSC, and a further 51 are publishing some of their data. The target date of 31 December 2022 has now passed, 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. We expect participation in the HSC will become a contractual requirement this year.
 
The team at Pharmac now has access to the HSC, which will become the primary source for product information for medical devices. We will be working through how we can use this information to replace some information requests we might make.
Check out the Health System Catalogue (HSC) Programme supplier update
 
Help us improve the Device Advice newsletter

This year looks to be big for hospital medical devices, for Pharmac and for the sector. As our work takes shape, we want to make sure Device Advice is meeting your needs. Please take 5 minutes to complete this short survey and let us know what you think of Device Advice and how it could be improved.
Complete the survey
 
Guidance and support to the hospital medical devices programme

We have welcomed six new members to the Strategic Medical Devices Advisory Group (SMDAG). The group is made up of a range of representatives from operational, clinical, and technical roles in hospitals and provides guidance and support to our hospital medical devices programme.

The group meets quarterly and provides valuable advice to Te Pātaka Whaioranga - Pharmac about a range of different topics, including sector updates and insights about working in an evolving health and disability system.

As the health reforms take shape, we know that Pharmac and other agencies will have various roles and interests in the medical devices work. Close collaboration will be critical to ensure the national approach considers local, regional, and national processes and decisions. SMDAG is one part of this engagement approach.
 
Category Supplier Date
Consultations released since 9 November 2022
Medical and surgical instruments (including surgical implants), and power tools Integra Neurosciences Pty Limited 9 February
Medical imaging, software, and associated products Quantum Healthcare NZ Limited 9 February
Dental and oral health products, Sterilisation and decontamination equipment and associated consumables (SDEAC) Ivoclar Vivadent Limited 17 January
Dental and oral health products Geistlich Pharma New Zealand Limited 17 January
Agreements notified since 3 November 2022
Laboratory equipment and consumables; medical imaging, software, and associated products Hologic Pty Limited 12 December 2022
Laboratory equipment and consumables; medical imaging, software, and associated products Paragon Care Group NZ Limited 3 November 2022

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 Critical Supply team, and district hospitals to resolve and 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.
 
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!
 

Back to blog entries

Areas of Interest