China’s National Health Commission has issued new nationwide rules requiring public hospitals and healthcare institutions to buy major medical equipment through centralized procurement channels. This new policy is different than past situations where hospitals sourced purchases individually. Announced on July 14, the framework divides equipment into two tiers: Class A large-scale devices, such as advanced radiotherapy systems, will be procured at the national level. On the other hand, Class B equipment, including PET/MR and PET/CT scanners, laparoscopic surgical systems, etc. will move through provincial-level procurement. Additional high-value equipment could be added to the system over time.
Provinces are expected to complete at least one full centralized procurement cycle for Class B equipment by the end of this year. National, provincial, and municipal health authorities will each maintain their own procurement catalogues, with designated agencies handling implementation at each level.
Rather than simply awarding contracts to the lowest bidder, evaluators will be asked to evaluate a device’s full lifecycle costs, factoring in reliability, long-term maintenance, and service quality – alongside the price. A new national price-transparency database is also planned.