Agreement for the supply of orthopaedic implants and associated products supplied by Orthotech Orthopaedics (NZ) Limited

What we are doing

We are pleased to announce the approval of a listing agreement with Orthotech Orthopaedics (NZ) Limited (“Orthotech”) for the supply of orthopaedic implants and associated products to DHBs.

In summary, this will result in:

• Pharmaceutical Schedule listings for a range of orthopaedic implants and associated products (“Orthopaedic Products”) supplied by Orthotech under a national agreement that all DHBs may purchase under (“Agreement”).

• DHBs continuing to be able to purchase other suppliers’ brands of Orthopaedic Products, as the Agreement is not for sole supply.

• The Orthopaedic Products being available for DHBs to purchase at the PHARMAC negotiated prices, and terms and conditions from 1 August 2018.

• Orthotech providing training and education services that will be tailored to suit the needs of individual DHBs in formats and at times as required by DHBs.

Any changes to the original proposal?

This agreement was the subject of a consultation letter dated 8 June 2018, and is principally the same with some minor changes to product details for the purposes of loading in the Schedule. 

Who we think will be most interested

• Suppliers and Wholesalers
• DHB Staff:
  • Orthopaedic Surgeons
  • Theatre Nurses
  • Sterile Services Personnel
  • Procurement Officers

Detail about this decision

In April 2016 PHARMAC issued a request for proposals (“RFP”) for orthopaedic implants and associated products.  The RFP requested proposals for non-exclusive national agreements for listing on the Pharmaceutical Schedule.

After completing the RFP evaluation process, and consulting on the provisional Agreement reached with Orthotech, PHARMAC has decided to list Orthotech’s range of Orthopaedic Products in Part III of Section H of the Pharmaceutical Schedule from 1 August 2018.  

The Agreement covers Orthotech’s full range of Orthopaedic Products currently supplied to DHB Hospitals.

The list of products will be available on PHARMAC's website from 1 August 2018, in both a PDF document and an Excel spreadsheet.

DHBs that purchase the Orthotech range of Orthopaedic Products must do so under the terms and conditions, and at the prices, included in the Agreement, from 1 August 2018.

DHBs can continue to choose which Orthopaedic Products they purchase.

The Agreement includes terms and conditions for training and education services to be provided by Orthotech to DHB personnel on the appropriate use of its Orthopaedic Products, which is to be provided at times as agreed with individual DHBs. 

The Orthotech Orthopaedic Products Agreement is one of a number of contracts PHARMAC has listed in this category on the Pharmaceutical Schedule.  Further consultations in this category are expected over the next few months.

Our response to what you told us

We appreciate the time people took to respond to this consultation.

All consultation responses received by 27 June 2018 were considered in their entirety in making a decision to approve Orthotech’s provisional Agreement. 

A summary of the main themes raised in feedback and our responses to the feedback received are set out below:

If you have any questions about this decision, you can email us at enquiry@pharmac.govt.nz; or call our toll free number (9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday) on 0800 66 00 50.