Medical device procurement

In future, Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora and Pharmac | Te Pātaka Whaioranga will each take responsibility for the procurement of medical devices that are most focused on their particular capabilities and expertise.  

Health NZ has worked together with Pharmac to identify which of the 55 categories of medical devices they should each be responsible for. 

Health NZ will lead procurement for 28 categories, while Pharmac will lead 27.

Health NZ will generally be the lead agency for devices that are less therapeutically intensive and require integration with infrastructure, for example, beds, imaging and diagnostics. And will continue to manage the overall medical devices budget. 

Pharmac will generally be the lead agency for devices that primarily have a direct therapeutic impact on patients, for example orthopaedic implants.  

Since 2012, responsibility for the procurement, contracting and supply management of medical devices for New Zealand hospitals has been shared between Health NZ and Pharmac. These devices are funded by Health New Zealand.

The procurement of medical devices is being split between Health NZ AND Pharmac.

Health NZ and Pharmac worked together to identify which of the 55 categories of medical devices they should each be responsible for. Health NZ will lead procurement for 27 categories, while Pharmac NZ will lead 28.

It makes sense for Health NZ and Pharmac to be able to procure medical devices that are most focused on their particular capabilities and expertise. A clear split between the agencies will provide the transparency and certainty that suppliers have been asking for. 

Health NZ will generally be the lead agency for devices that are less therapeutically intensive and require integration with infrastructure, for example, beds, imaging and diagnostics. 

Pharmac will generally be the lead agency for devices that have a direct therapeutic impact on patients and that need a high level of clinical input. For instance, this includes orthopaedic implants.

Lead agency for procurement of medical device categories [PDF, 109 KB]

Health NZ will remain the funding authority for hospital medical devices. This means Health NZ will make final decisions on which devices to purchase. These decisions will be informed by agreed priorities between Health NZ and Pharmac.

Pharmac will deliver independent Health Technology Assessment advice to Health NZ. 

Pharmac independently evaluates the clinical benefit and cost-effectiveness for a range of medical devices, particularly where these are highly technical. Pharmac assessments bring together clinical effectiveness, patient voice, cost utility, budget impact, implementation, commercial considerations and equity impacts.

This involves analysis and comparison of different technologies to inform Health NZ’s adoption of new devices and technologies and will eventually ensure that the most effective and efficient options are selected for use.  

Now that the Government has clarified responsibilities for the procurement of medical devices, we are developing the next level of detail, including how this split may affect current contractual arrangements and commercial processes underway. This detail will be shared as soon as it is available.

We’re working closely with Pharmac to understand what the changes mean for current agreements and procurement processes already underway, so we can plan for any transition.

In the meantime, your current contracts with Health NZ remain in place, and we’ll keep you informed of any updates as the process moves forward.

We understand that suppliers and stakeholders will have questions about how this change may affect current and future contracts. At this stage, any current agreements with Health NZ remain in effect and we encourage you to continue with business as usual.  

In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to our team if you have any questions or would like to discuss your specific circumstances.