Optimising hospital costs through strategic procurement and contract management

As public or semi-public organisations, hospitals face increasing challenges in controlling costs, improving the quality of care and managing resources. With budgets often tight and demands ever more pressing, better management of procurement and public contracts is an essential lever for achieving significant savings, while maintaining high quality standards. This article explores how hospitals can reduce expenditure by optimising their approach to procurement and purchasing.

Centralised purchasing: guaranteed economies of scale

One of the main ways of reducing costs in hospitals is to centralise purchasing. By grouping together the needs of several departments or even several establishments, hospitals can benefit from more competitive prices thanks to volume orders. This makes it possible to negotiate better contracts with suppliers and reduce the administrative costs associated with managing several individual contracts.

A concrete example is hospital pharmacy, where the purchase of expensive molecules and specialised medicines represents a significant proportion of the budget. By centralising orders for critical molecules such as anti-cancer drugs or treatments for rare diseases, hospitals can obtain substantial discounts from suppliers while guaranteeing the availability of these essential medicines. This approach helps to reduce the losses associated with the expiry of stocks that are too large or poorly managed.

Improving public procurement procedures and adopting a proactive purchasing strategy

Public procurement is often perceived as complex, but rigorous management of procedures combined with a proactive purchasing strategy can generate significant savings. It's not enough to simply follow the administrative steps: hospitals also need to anticipate their needs, optimise calls for tender and actively seek out innovative or alternative suppliers..

A clear purchasing strategy means that negotiations can be better prepared, priorities can be set in terms of quality, costs and lead times, and purchases can be segmented according to risk and volume. It also means keeping abreast of market developments and working with other players in the sector to maximise opportunities for pooling purchases.

Digitising processes: towards greater efficiency and transparency

Digitalising procurement and contract management processes enables hospitals to increase efficiency, reduce human error and improve transparency. Solutions such as ERP can be used to centralise purchasing management, integrate financial data and monitor expenditure in real time.

Electronic signatures are another example of a digital innovation that simplifies contract management and speeds up validation procedures, while ensuring traceability and legal compliance. These digital tools also reduce processing times and enable offers to be compared more closely, making it easier to take the right decision.

Renegotiate existing contracts not covered by public procurement contracts

In addition to traditional public procurement contracts, there are many contracts that are not subject to these procedures. These contracts, which are often renewed without any real renegotiation, represent an opportunity for savings. In fact, active renegotiation of existing contracts, whether for medical supplies, technical services or logistics, can enable us to adjust rates to the realities of the current market and improve working conditions.

By regularly auditing contracts not covered by public tenders, hospitals can ensure that the terms are still competitive and in line with current needs, while identifying negotiating levers to obtain better terms.

Reducing waste through optimised stock management

Another key area for savings in hospitals is inventory management. Ineffective inventory management can lead to additional costs associated with overstocking or, conversely, stock-outs that can delay treatment and affect the quality of care. In particular, stock management of medicines, such as expensive or specific molecules, is crucial.

By implementing more effective stock management systems, based on predictive analysis and real-time data, hospitals can optimise their purchasing, avoid waste and improve the use of their financial resources. Better management of sensitive medicines helps to reduce expiry losses and avoid stock-outs that can compromise continuity of care.

Conclusion

Procurement and contract management represent a major opportunity for hospitals to make substantial savings while maintaining a high level of patient care. By centralising purchasing, adopting a proactive strategy, digitising processes, renegotiating existing contracts and optimising stock management, healthcare establishments can improve their efficiency and competitiveness.