Comparative Study of Medical Equipment Procurement in Selected Countries

Abstract

Background: Despite the fact that medical equipment is critical for providing good health services and also incurs significant expenditures for the health system, little is known about how to procure it effectively. To date, only a few comparative studies on the procurement framework for medical equipment between nations have been conducted. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine this issue between the leading countries. Methods: To conduct this comparative study, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Thailand, and Iran were selected. Medical devices, medical equipment, procurement, purchasing, and acquisition were keywords considered to search PubMed, ProQuest, Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, and Google scholar databases. Also, the websites of the related organizations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank, and the Ministry of Health of respective countries were searched for the gray literature. Providing information about the procurement framework and availability of evidence in the English language was considered as the inclusion criteria and the lack of access to full texts, letters, and commentary article designs were the exclusion criteria. The results were summarized and reported using comparative tables. Results: Most of the countries involved in this study are trying to align procurement activities with national health care priorities. In view of this, there is a trend toward centralized procurement, especially in Italy, Spain, England, Italy, Canada, and Iran. While a range of actors participate in the procurement process, a greater role for physicians and patients is necessary to be defined to meet patient needs. Moving from price-based approaches to value-based approaches is in the agenda to consider a broader range of criteria to achieve value for money and support patient access to innovations. Conclusion: Most of the countries have reorganized the mechanism of medical equipment procurement. The price of products is the important factor, and recently the value factor has become more important in procurement. Reinforcing the role of decision-making teams and hospital committees in the procurement of medical equipment is suggested. Further studies are needed on the application of value-based approaches to evaluate their effects in hospitals.