Cooperative purchasing of pacemakers by Dutch hospitals : What are the determinants , cost - savings and perceived non - monetary benefits ?

Cooperative purchasing is increasingly seen as a valuable mechanism in the health and care sector in holding down health spending by leveraging the combined volumes of hospitals in the purchase of medical products as well as optimizing purchasing activities especially in hospitals. Little is known, however, about the actual extent of cost-savings that cooperative purchasing generates for participants and the related motivation of hospitals to engage in cooperative purchasing via a group purchasing arrangement. This paper seeks to explore the actual cost-savings and related determinants and consequences of hospitals’ decision to purchase pacemakers through cooperative purchasing in the Netherlands. To evaluate the magnitude of cost-savings, data on individual and collective prices for 21 hospitals in the Netherlands was analyzed. To investigate related determinants and consequences, 16 key informant interviews were carried out. Based on our data, for hospitals that signed an individual contract based on a framework agreement with Intrakoop, they saved on average 31% on the price of pacemakers.