Medical Devices team working proactively with suppliers

Director of Medical Devices Catherine Epps says the webinar, run in October, was a great opportunity for suppliers to connect with Pharmac, and for Pharmac to provide clear and useful information about the medical devices programme. This webinar was also a follow on from the Pharmac presentations at the Medical Technology Association of NZ (MTANZ) Healthtech conference in June.

"Our vision for the Programme and our work is to drive better value, more consistent and equitable access to Hospital Medical Devices, in order to deliver the best health outcomes for all New Zealanders," she says. 

The webinar gave suppliers the chance to hear about:

• How we propose to finalise a comprehensive list of medical devices that are used by Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora.
• An update on the national process which is being established for Health Technology Assessment (HTA).
• Plans to improve how Pharmac engages with suppliers through technology.

Epps says this was a chance for Pharmac to hear directly from suppliers, provide quick updates, and respond directly to any questions or issues raised.  

"We want suppliers to know what we're working on, and what it means for them. We want them to understand how they can participate in this work," Epps says.  

"It's really important that we get feedback from suppliers - so that we improve our plans and learn about the challenges and opportunities suppliers are facing - we want to hear their ideas," Epps says. 

Stronger relationships with suppliers can led to better health outcomes for New Zealanders, Catherine says. One example is a new escalation process for negotiations that has built trust between Pharmac and suppliers and helped to get tricky negotiations back on track. 

"Contract negotiations are inherently stressful and challenging for all parties. By saying to suppliers if things aren't going well for some reason and they have concerns, they are able to escalate that – it means we're able to lean into their concerns and get the negotiation process back on track." 

"By suppliers having a better understanding of our priorities and the factors that we have to consider; they can anticipate issues ahead of time.,” Epps says. 

This can also help speed things up for everyone. 

Pharmac is also working closely with Health New Zealand to make the medical devices programme simpler to navigate for suppliers.

"We continue to work together with Health New Zealand day to day to improve the process for suppliers and provide clear, consistent information,” Epps says.