Centralized procurement in healthcare has proven its worth in the past: it brought order to the supply of equipment and materials and delivered demonstrable savings. The debate about restoring it, however, runs up against a lack of capacity in hospitals and political instability. Experts are therefore calling for an independent central organization that combines analytics, market knowledge, and professional procurement.
Why joint purchasing makes sense
When healthcare purchased centrally, hospitals were able to get devices and equipment to where they were needed most, and faster than with individual purchases. Crucial was the collaboration between purchasing teams and analytical units that mapped the market, set tender parameters, and oversaw the balance between price and quality. Using lifecycle evaluation also prevented “cheap” solutions that are expensive to operate.
Centralization does not only bring volume discounts. It professionalizes purchasing, unifies standards, and reduces the risk of errors in specifications. Many countries have therefore created either general purchasing agencies for the state or sectoral organizations for healthcare—precisely for these effects.
Where we run into roadblocks: capacity, time, and complexity
Hospitals often struggle with a shortage of people for public procurement and have to rely on external firms. With larger devices, the purchase itself is accompanied by construction modifications, structural requirements, or connections—and the hospital often lacks in-house experts who can precisely define the needs. This is also why some purchases end up outside standard processes, and it is difficult to bring them back under clear rules.
Centralized tenders require thorough preparation, market consultations, and good data; they commonly take more than one year. Another risk is political change: new leadership can stop tenders already under way, which paralyzes investments. Experts therefore emphasize the need for an independent authority that will decide according to rules and the needs of hospitals, not electoral cycles.
What works and what would help
Even today, central procurement of energy for hospitals works well, and experience has also shown savings on medicines through a dynamic purchasing system. For medicines and everyday goods, fully linking hospitals’ ordering systems with distributors would help, so that healthcare staff do not spend time on phone calls and manually confirming orders. In the case of devices, it is crucial to plan for construction interventions as well and to create specialized teams that can manage the process from defining requirements to installation.
The solution is a central procurement organization with regional branches that will bring hospitals together for typical commodities and use modern approaches: from market consultations through innovative partnerships to functional specifications instead of details “to the millimeter.” Such an approach requires time, expert capacity, and a culture of value for money—not competing on the lowest price at any cost. At the same time, it requires protecting the professionalism of purchasing teams from media pressure and stable rules that outlast changes in leadership.
