New catalog for centralized purchasing platform for health products in Spain

The new “Catalog of Goods and Services” for the centralized purchasing platform was presented to the regional health authorities by the Minister of Health on February 19, 2019. This new catalog includes up to 25,000 items, including drugs and medical aids and devices.

The Centralized Purchasing platform is based on two fundamental pillars:

• The web platform of information and collaboration between the agents involved: a web page in which, transparently, anonymously and openly, all the information related to the centralized purchasing initiative for the National Health System can be accessed
• The Catalog of Goods and Services of centralized purchasing: it is integrated into the Platform and includes nearly 25,000 articles (both drugs and health products) cataloged in a structured and hierarchical manner. The structure of the catalog allows the future incorporation of health services

The Centralized Purchasing initiative of the Spanish NHS started with the agreements of the NHS Interterritorial Council (CISNS) Plenary of March 18, 2010, which agreed on the establishment of an aggregate purchasing procedure for the Spanish NHS. Recently, the CISNS itself agreed to promote the centralized purchase of drugs, health products, and services, as a measure of rationalization, cohesion, and efficiency in the SNS.

Since 2013, 15 tenders have been made for more than 2,700 million euros, having generated savings of approximately 237 million euros. Non-patent drugs, patent-subject medicines and medical devices (gloves, gauze, bandages, glucose test strips, intraocular implants, hip and shoulder prostheses) have been on these tenders.

In the coming months, though this initiative, the centralized purchases of defibrillators and pacemakers will start, together with pharmaceuticals.

In the tenders carried out to date, 13 Autonomous Communities have participated.

See the Press release from the Spanish Minister of Health in Spanish here.

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