Medical device procurement in New Zealand is set for a major shake-up, with the Government announcing a new two-agency system aimed at “improving efficiency, certainty, and transparency”.
Associate Health Minister David Seymour and Health Minister Simeon Brown said Cabinet has approved an approach that splits responsibility between Health New Zealand (HNZ) and Pharmac, ending more than a decade of debate over which agency should take the lead.
Seymour said procurement had been “paralysed for at least 13 years” amid conflicting recommendations about whether Pharmac or HNZ should take over.
“Finally, everybody involved has clarity,” he said, promising a system that would reward innovation and deliver better outcomes for patients. Under the new framework, Pharmac will manage procurement of highly technical devices with direct therapeutic impacts—such as surgical implants and anaesthetic machines—while HNZ will focus on broader equipment like hospital beds, imaging machines, and supplies.
Brown highlighted that HNZ spends nearly $1.5 billion annually on medical devices and said the new approach would ensure every dollar delivers value for patients. He noted that the two agencies will continue to work together, with Pharmac providing independent evaluation expertise where needed. He cited recent procurement savings of over $3 million on gloves as an example of HNZ’s capacity to bulk-purchase and manage supply risks.
The ministers said the changes will provide certainty to manufacturers, give clinicians greater transparency, and ensure New Zealanders get the medical devices they need, when and where they need them.
Image credit: Abby Anaday
sick
why are these covid scammers still calling the shots? pun intended.
Does this include new political enema bags for the ‘Health Ministers’ as well????