Health services meet to prioritise pharmaceutical procurement opportunities

Directors of pharmacy from across Victoria recently met with a cross-functional team from HSV in the second of two pharmaceutical procurement workshops aimed at developing a statewide procurement strategy.

The group previously met in May to review state spending and identified 14 areas of opportunity to deliver statewide commercial, patient care and operational benefits. Over the last four months working groups comprising health service volunteers and HSV’s Pharmaceutical Sourcing team have conducted deep dives into these opportunities to determine their complexity and cost.

The second workshop saw the state regroup to review the working group's findings and agree on a final list of initiatives. With a mix of presentations and participant discussion, including breakout groups to prioritise individual opportunities, the workshop generated a lively dialogue that covered administration, information sharing and cost reduction as well as pharmaceutical product lines.

Of the 14 original opportunities identified, seven were prioritised as worthwhile for development including group tenders for therapeutic groups (such as iron infusions) and supporting pharmaceutical capital expenditure procurement opportunities relevant to all health services or featuring new technologies (such as auto dispensers). Also included is an initiative to optimise data management across health services and a process to support health services in sharing excess stock and reducing write-off costs.

Latrobe Regional Health Head of Pharmacy Louise McMahon attended the workshop.

“As the director of a regional department, the workshop was a great platform to launch some robust discussion around the future of procurement and also a great opportunity to share insights, align goals and improve processes,” Louise says.

Benalla Health Director of Pharmacy Angela Lawrence found the workshop provided valuable insights.

“It has been great to be involved in the workshop. Aside from being a good way to provide input into pharmaceutical procurement, it’s given me a good understanding of HSV and the common opportunities that exist,” says Angela.

“Coming from a regional health service, it has been good to get a chance to interact with HSV and other health services in these types of matters,” she says.

HSV’s Acting Chief Procurement Officer Rebecca Prior says the workshops have enabled HSV’s Pharmaceutical Sourcing team to work more closely with health services, gaining direct and valuable insights into the complexities and opportunities present in the sector.

“After health services’ feedback from the first workshop, we changed some of our areas of focus,” Rebecca says.

“The final list of initiatives includes opportunities that will deliver both commercial value as well as the potential to enhance process improvement and reduce administration at the health service level.”

Overall, the initiatives have the potential to realise up to $10 million in commercial benefits across a five-year period.

The group also identified additional operational benefits for health services including reduced waste and a reduction in the administrative tasks associated with the procurement of certain products.

The final initiatives will continue to be fleshed out and pending endorsement, reflected in the next Procurement Activity Plan refresh once their scopes are finalised.

“I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the workshops and working groups. Their input has been invaluable in forming a pharmaceutical procurement strategy that will both save costs and generate value for all,” Rebecca says.