Building a comprehensive Medical Devices List

Pharmac – Te Pātaka Whaioranga is working with successful suppliers to achieve a national contract with them. The medical devices they supply are then added to the Medical Devices List.

By July 2025, Pharmac are planning to have a comprehensive list of hospital medical devices that represents the medical devices that hospitals are using.

How are we doing this?

We are currently establishing national contracts for suppliers in open categories of devices. 

We will also be using the Health System Catalogue (HSC) and Health NZ purchasing information to identify products in use in hospitals that are not currently on the Medical Devices List. 

We will add items without a Pharmac contract where there is current usage in Health NZ hospitals to achieve a comprehensive list. 

We will consult with suppliers and Health NZ to make sure the comprehensive list is sustainable, affordable and represents the devices hospitals are using. This will finalise the list compiling process and mean we will have a comprehensive list. 

Why should you have a Pharmac contract?

Currently, Health NZ prioritises purchasing devices under Pharmac contract over ones that are not contracted. Contracts give Health NZ more security of terms and pricing and are more administratively efficient.

Once a comprehensive list is established, Pharmac contracts will provide suppliers with additional protections, including being consulted before changes to the list are decided.

If a contracted supplier wants to make changes to their listing, they will be prioritised over non contracted suppliers. In most cases a contract will be required for a supplier to list new technology or change its listing arrangements. 

What happens when the list is comprehensive?

When we have a comprehensive list, we will be able to move to the next stage of medical devices work. This will mean: 

• Health NZ hospitals will only buy hospital medical devices from the Medical Devices List, 
• There will be an assessment and decision-making process, which suppliers can participate in, to make changes to the list,  
• There will be an exceptions process (for specific or special circumstances) for hospital medical devices that are not in the Medical Devices List.  

Pharmac is developing new processes for how we will make changes to the Medical Devices List, and associated contracts, once the list is comprehensive. These new processes will be informed by internationally recognised health technology assessment processes, expert advice, and our Factors for Consideration.

Want to know more?

We will be holding a webinar for suppliers in October. The webinar will cover a range of topics, including: 

• The comprehensive list of medical devices used by Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora,
• The IT systems we will use and how this data will integrate into Health NZ systems,
• Establishing a national approach to Health Technology Assessment (HTA) to add new device technology to this list.

During the webinar there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions and give us your feedback. This feedback will help to inform our approach and proposed timeframes. 

We will send you more information about this webinar, including how to register, soon. If you are not already, please subscribe to Device Advice.