A new study published in the Journal of Medical Marketing lists five key principles necessary to develop sound medical technology procurement strategies and avoid costly long-term consequences.

The study, “Global Best Practices in Medical Device Procurement—A Road Map to System Success,” examined research on health care cost containment efforts across 10 countries, and gathered input from government officials, health care providers and medical device industry officials.

First, the study found that procurement decisions and policies should be developed and evaluated in terms of impact on total cost rather than solely on initial product price.

Second, adequate clinical input into tendering processes is necessary to protect patient access to a proper array of treatment options, and to ensure that clinical requirements are satisfied as well.

Third, procurement officials should have the flexibility to implement provisions for new product adoption in order to improve access to new, superior medical technologies.

Fourth, procurement systems should develop strategies that spur competition among suppliers to help prevent market stagnation.

Fifth, procurement systems should ensure transparency of processes in order to improve efficiencies and prevent wasteful allocation of resources to administrative processes.