Decision to list medical devices supplied by Obex Medical Limited

What we’re doing

We are pleased to announce the approval of a listing agreement with Obex Medical Limited (“Obex”) in Part III of Section H of the Pharmaceutical Schedule from 1 May 2022 for the supply of:

• rehabilitation equipment, patient positioning products and supports (“rehabilitation products”); and
• Dental and oral health products.

In summary this will result in:

• a range of medical devices from Obex being listed in Part III of Section H of the Pharmaceutical Schedule from 1 May 2022 under a national agreement that all DHBs may purchase under (“Agreement”); and
• DHBs being able to continue to purchase other suppliers’ brands of the medical devices as the Agreement is not for sole supply.

Any changes to the original proposal?

This decision was subject to a consultation letter dated 15 February 2022.

No changes were made to the original proposal as a result of consultation feedback.

Who we think will be most interested

• DHB staff including but not limited to:
  • Dental Hubs
  • Mobile Schools
  • Community Dental Clinics
  • Orthodontists
  • Clinical engineers and maintenance services
  • DHB procurement and supply chain
  • Geriatricians
  • Neurologists and Neurosurgeons
  • Nurses
  • Occupational therapists
  • Orthopaedic surgeons
  • Orthotists
  • Paediatricians
  • Physiotherapists
  • Podiatrists
  • Rehabilitation’s physicians (including spinal units)
  • Speed-language therapists
• Suppliers and wholesalers

Details about this decision

Pharmac has previously issued Requests for Proposals (“RFPs”) for:

• supply of rehabilitation equipment, patient positioning products and supports
• supply of dental and oral health products

The RFPs were for non-exclusive national agreements for listing on the Pharmaceutical Schedule.

After completing the evaluation processes, and consulting on the provisional agreement with Obex, Pharmac has decided to list Obex’s rehabilitation products, and dental and oral health products in Part III of Section H of the Pharmaceutical Schedule from 1 May 2022.

These proposals are the latest to arise from these processes and we expect to consult on further provisional agreements with the suppliers of these medical devices in 2022.

DHBs can continue to choose which rehabilitation products, and dental and oral health products they procure, including those from other suppliers. DHBs that procure rehabilitation products, and dental and oral health products from Obex must do so under the terms and conditions, including pricing, in the agreement from 1 May 2022.

The list of products will be available on Pharmac’s website from 1 May 2022, in both PDF and Excel spreadsheet formats.

Our response to what you told us

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

All consultation responses received by 14 March 2022 were considered in their entirety in making the decision to list Obex’s rehabilitation products, and dental and oral health products.  

A summary of the main themes raised in feedback and our responses to the feedback 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.