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HomeExpert Panel on effective ways of investing in Health (EXPH)
Opinion on public procurement in healthcare system : the EXPH adopted this opinion at the plenary meeting on 28 April 2021 after public hearing on 3 February 2021
Expert Panel on effective ways of investing in Health (EXPH)
Opinion on public procurement in healthcare system : the EXPH adopted this opinion at the plenary meeting on 28 April 2021 after public hearing on 3 February 2021
Publication metadata
Every year, over 250,000 public authorities in the EU spend about 14% of GDP (about €2 trillion) on the purchase of services, works, and supplies. Many are in the health sector, a sector in which public authorities are the main buyers in many countries. When these purchases exceed certain thresholds, EU public procurement rules apply. In light of the rising healthcare costs in the EU as a whole, public procurement has increasingly been promoted as a tool for developing efficiency as well as contributing to better health outcomes. Public procurement Directives 2014/24/EU “on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC” and 2014/23/EU “on the award of concession contracts” provide an EU framework for public procurement in the EU. Its core principles are transparency, equal treatment and non-discrimination. In this situation, the Expert Panel has been asked to consider the challenges that arise with public procurement and any potential solutions to them within healthcare systems. We have examined the tendering of pharmaceuticals, health technology, and e-Health. In each case we identify a series of challenges relating to the complexity of the procurement process, imbalances in power on either side of transactions, and the role of procurement in promoting broader public policy objectives. We then make a series of recommendations designed to strengthen the procurement process, stressing the importance of using procurement to promote the goals of the health system, and specifically the interests of patients, to promote the wider goals of public policy in the social, economic, and environmental spheres, and building capacity within organisations engaged in public procurement to ensure that they have the necessary skills and expertise. A further three recommendations relate to particular topics, highlighting the need to strengthen action on corruption at all stages of procurement in the health sector, improve public procurement during emergencies, and encourage cooperative procurement when appropriate.
- Published:
- Corporate author(s): Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (European Commission)
- Themes: Public health
- Subject: e-Health , EU financing , health service , health technology , healthcare industry , organisation of health care , patient's rights , pharmaceutical industry , public procurement
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| ISSN | ISBN 978-92-76-30839-3 | DOI 10.2875/832331 | Catalogue number EW-02-21-255-EN-N |
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| ISSN | ISBN 978-92-76-30840-9 | DOI 10.2875/782344 | Catalogue number EW-02-21-255-EN-C |
- Released on EU Publications:
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