The Application of Price Performance Criteria for Government Procurement of Medicine: A Case Study in Pilot Hospitals

Abstract

The Government Procurement and Supplies Management Act B.E. 2560 (2017) was published in the Royal Thai Government Gazette and has become active with government organizations since August 2017. The act allows the purchase of drugs and medical supplies to consider the price and other attributes of performance in decision-making. There has been a development of other price performance by applying multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) or price performance-MCDA criteria. The objective of this study was to assess the practical feasibility, problems and constraints in introducing the price performance-MCDA criteria in the practical work process. This study was a research and development. The sample group was eight pilot hospitals. Purposive sampling was performed by selecting the hospitals under the Ministry of Public Health (Office of the Permanent Secretary and Department of Medical Services), the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation. Researchers then organized a meeting to inform the participants about the price performance-MCDA criteria. The participants selected three sample drugs from the list of study drug groups. The results showed that 1 hospital was excluded because non-readiness to apply the criteria, and 7 hospitals exercised price performance-MCDA to evaluate drugs but not used in the purchasing process. Some hospitals adjusted the price and performance ratio for scoring and some did not adjust. Comparing the evaluation results by the price performance-MCDA criteria to current hospital criteria in 4 hospitals, 66.7% showed consistent results (2 out of 3 items). Furthermore, the comparison between price performance-MCDA criteria and current hospital criteria found that most of the similar issues were as follows: quality of manufacturing and quality of products. However, there were different concerned criteria such as experiences in using the drugs and drug availability on the list in a teaching hospital; drug specification including packaging and labelling for reducing medication errors; research data in supporting quality and efficacy of drugs; and the ethical training on drug promotion. The results found that most pharmacists who participated in the present research using price performance-MCDA were satisfied with these criteria, particularly in terms of driving the improvement of drug quality. Problems and constraints encountered in this study included understanding the details of each criterion. In summary, the results indicated the possibility of applying the price performance-MCDA criteria, but the criteria may need to be adjusted when implemented.