Health commission orders: oversized medical equipment centralized procurement, launching

Recently, the Pharmacy Management Center of the Health Commission of Hainan Province intensively released a number of “Centralized Procurement of Medical Equipment for the 2024 Super Long term Special treasury bond” Project – Public Bidding Announcement “, marking the opening of a new round of centralized procurement of medical equipment in Hainan Province.
01
Provincial Health Commission ordered:
A large number of high-end CT, MR equipment ‘packaging’ procurement

According to the China Government Procurement Network, during 7-8 November, a total of three ‘2024 Ultra-Long-Term Special National Debt “Trade-in” Project Medical Equipment Centralised Procurement Bulletins’ were issued, covering 37 sets of medium- and high-end large-scale medical equipments, with a total budget of more than RMB 309 million. The total budget exceeded RMB 309 million.

Of course, this is just the beginning.
That is to say, there will be at least five projects for the centralized procurement of medical equipment in Hainan Province, which will be handled by five procurement agencies.
Therefore, with the release of subsequent documents, both the number of medical equipment and the budget amount will continue to rise.
• Project 1——
Budget of $110 million for the procurement of 11 sets of CT (mid-range);
• Project 3——
The budget is 97.2 million yuan, 4 procurement packages, the procurement of 3.0T magnetic resonance (middle and high-end) 4 sets, 3.0T magnetic resonance (mid-range) 1 set, 1.5T magnetic resonance 2 sets, 64 rows and above CT 6 sets, all rejected imported products bidding;
• Project 4
The budget is $102 million for four procurement packages to procure four sets of 3.0T MRI (mid-range and high-end), one set of 3.0T MRI (mid-range), two sets of 1.5T MRI, and six sets of CT with 64 rows and above.

02
Acceleration of domestic substitution of mid to high end equipment

In recent years, although foreign companies such as Siemens, GE Medical and other imported brands still dominate the market, but domestic forces are rising.

For example, the 3.0T high-end MR Equipment under .United-Imaging Medical, whether in terms of technological innovation, product quality or after-sales service, has the strength to compete with “GPS”, and even shows a unique competitive advantage in some areas. This wave is also fully reflected in the centralized procurement of medical equipment for the “old for new” project of Hainan Province’s 2024 ultra-long-term special Treasury bonds.

In this centralized procurement, the procurement project (3) 97.2 million equipment, it is clear that all products “do not accept bids for imported products”; Items 1 and 4, although not explicitly rejected, but according to the bidding (procurement) documents do not explicitly allow the import of products to participate, are deemed to refuse to participate in the import of products. In fact, it also conveys a slanting attitude toward domestic equipment. This actually conveys a slanted attitude towards domestic equipment.

In addition to the high-end MR Field, other head brands represented by Neusoft Medical can also rely on their own product cost-effective and price advantages, is expected to occupy a place in this centralized procurement, and the result will even lead to great changes in the competitive pattern of medical equipment market in Hainan Province.

03
Equipment centralized procurement projects to enter an intensive ‘explosive period’!

Under the temptation of the significant price reduction of drugs and consumables, the medical equipment collection projects in various provinces and cities across the country have shown a blowout trend this year.
From Anhui province to Fujian Province, and then to Suzhou and Hohhot, many places across the country have launched centralized medical equipment procurement projects, covering categories from conventional medical equipment to medium and high-end large-scale medical equipment, with no “forbidden areas” to speak of.

• On September 29, Hohhot Municipal Health Commission issued the “Centralized Procurement of Medical equipment Project Bidding Announcement”, centralized procurement of a number of medical ultrasonic instruments and equipment, and all exclude the import option.

• On September 23, the special working group of CT and MR Centralized procurement set up by the Fujian Provincial Health Commission reported new progress, and on the basis of the original supplier data collection, the collection requirements for detailed technical and performance parameters of high-end CT (256 row) and MR (1.5T, 3.0T) equipment were specially added.

• On August 2nd, the research work on the centralized procurement project of equipment for public medical institutions in Suzhou in 2024 was officially launched, which also widely involved various key medical equipment such as CT, MR, DSA, DR, color Doppler ultrasound diagnostic instruments (including desktop and portable).

According to the results of medical equipment procurement projects announced by cities such as Anyang and Sanya, the decline once exceeded 50%, and the cost saving effect was immediate. However, this wave of equipment procurement is not without challenges.
• Compared with centralized procurement of drugs and consumables with uniform specifications, low unit prices, and large quantities, centralized procurement of medical equipment is particularly complex due to its long service life, slow replacement, and low procurement tolerance.
However, from the practical exploration in various provinces, it can also be seen that the strategy of “classified centralized procurement and on-demand configuration” has been proven to be feasible.
With strong support from the national finance, while the medical equipment in hospitals at all levels across the country is being extensively updated, it will also further accelerate the development of centralized procurement of medical equipment nationwide.
China is encouraging China end uses for more domestic products in latest years. Thus, more and more overseas manufacturers are planning localization in China. BradyKnows localization team has extensive experiences in facility establishment, audit, supplier evaluation, manufacturing, registration, and marketing in China. Pls feel free to let us know any questions on China entry via info@bradyknowsmedical.com