Health & Beauty

The National Medical Security Administration organized and carried out the centralized procurement of artificial joints on the 14th and produced the results of the proposed selection in Tianjin. The average price of hip joints dropped from 35,000 yuan to about 7,000 yuan, and the average price of knee joints dropped from 32,000 yuan to about 5,000 yuan, with an average price reduction of 82%.

Artificial joint replacement is one of the effective methods to treat femoral head necrosis, joint damage, osteoarthritis and other diseases caused by trauma, sports injury, degeneration and aging. Due to the complex technical classification and combination of orthopedic consumables, it is difficult to directly compete. It has long been a difficult point in centralized procurement, the price is obviously high, and the patient's burden is heavier.

In the first year of the centralized procurement of artificial joints, the intended purchase amount was 540,000 sets, which accounted for 90% of the total demand of medical institutions nationwide. Calculated on the basis of the purchase price in 2020, the purchase amount of artificial hip and knee joints by public medical institutions is about 20 billion yuan, accounting for more than 10% of the high-value medical consumables market.

Based on the successful experience of centralized procurement of coronary stents, this centralized procurement focused on respecting clinical needs and the characteristics of joint products, and further explored and innovated procurement rules. The first is to implement procurement according to the product system. According to the characteristics of clinical use, multiple main components required for complete clinical surgery are combined into a product system for procurement, to avoid shortages of some necessary components due to unsuccessful bids, and price increases for some components that are not included in centralized procurement, to ensure clinical treatment Integrity and safety. The second is to fully consider clinical accompanying services. Joint surgery requires companies to provide clinical accompany services such as "following the table". The accompanying service fee is listed separately in the quotation of the centralized procurement company to ensure the stable supply and use of products, which is conducive to the smooth implementation of the selected results.

A total of 48 companies participated in this centralized procurement, 44 of which were selected, with a winning rate of 92%. Both domestic and foreign companies have products to be selected, including well-known companies commonly used by medical institutions and emerging companies, taking into account market stability and vitality.

Ding Yilei, Director of the Pharmaceutical Price and Bidding Purchasing Department of the National Medical Security Administration, said that the successful bid opening of the centralized procurement of artificial joint orthopedic consumables reflects the determination to deepen the governance of high-value medical consumables, and to promote a more complete system of centralized procurement and more mature rules. The beneficial exploration is of great significance to the in-depth promotion of the reform of centralized procurement.

It is understood that it is expected that from March to April 2022, patients will be able to use the artificial joint collection products after the price has been reduced.