Pooling procurement in the Belgian hospital sector.

Area of Science:

• Health services management
• Supply chain management
• Public procurement

Background:

• The Belgian hospital sector has attempted to pool medical supply and equipment purchases for over a decade to reduce costs.
• Previous initiatives, including opportunistic purchases and local-regional contracts, have largely failed due to a lack of structured and professional approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the prerequisites for successful hospital procurement pooling.
• To highlight the risks and limitations associated with implementing changes in procurement practices.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of European hospital procurement pooling experiments.
• Establishment of a high-performance purchasing department at Saint Luc University Clinic, focusing on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
• Adoption of a central procurement agency model aligned with new public procurement legislation.

Main Results:

• The Saint Luc University Clinic established the Mercure central procurement agency.
• Mercure has become the largest interhospital purchasing structure in Belgium.
• The initiative demonstrates the potential of a structured, TCO-focused approach to procurement pooling.

Conclusions:

• A structured and professional approach is essential for effective hospital procurement pooling.
• Implementing procurement pooling requires careful consideration of risks and limitations.
• The Mercure agency serves as a successful model for interhospital purchasing collaboration.