Decision to list medical devices supplied by LifeHealthcare Limited

What we’re doing

In summary this will result in:

• 51 of LifeHealthcare’s products being listed in Part III of Section H of the Pharmaceutical Schedule from 1 December 2020 under a national agreement that all DHBs may purchase under (“Agreement”); and
• DHBs being able to continue to purchase other suppliers’ brands of surgical suction, chest and wound drainage medical devices.

Any changes to the original proposal?

This decision was subject to a consultation letter dated 24 September 2020.

There were no changes made to the Agreement as a result of the consultation feedback.

Who we think will be most interested

• DHB Staff
  • Clinical engineers
  • Surgeons
  • Perioperative staff
  • Theatre staff
  • Procurement and supply chain personnel
  • Surgical and general ward staff
  • Central sterile services personnel
• Suppliers and wholesalers

Details about this decision

In 2018 PHARMAC issued a Request for Proposal (“RFP”) for the supply of surgical suction, chest and wound drainage products.

The RFP was 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 LifeHealthcare, PHARMAC has decided to list LifeHealthcare’s medical devices in Part III of Section H of the Pharmaceutical Schedule from 1 December 2020.

The list of products will be available on PHARMAC’s website from 1 December 2020, in both PDF and Excel spreadsheet formats.

DHBs can continue to choose which surgical suction, chest and wound drainage medical devices they purchase, including those from other suppliers. DHBs that purchase surgical suction, chest and wound drainage medical devices from LifeHealthcare must do so under the terms and conditions, including pricing, in the Agreement, from 1 December 2020.

The Agreement includes terms and conditions for training and education, to be provided by LifeHealthcare, on the appropriate use of its products, which is to be provided at times as agreed with individual DHBs.

Our response to what you told us

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

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.