MEAT Value-Based Procurement, key topic at the SEIV Greek Symposium

Posted on 28.06.2017

On 22 June, MedTech Europe was represented at the Value-Based Procurement Symposium organised by the Association for Medical & Biotechnology Products (SEIV) in Athens, Greece.

The event brought together different perspectives on the challenges faced by healthcare in general, and by procurement – which is fully price-based – in particular.

MTE’s Director of Market Access and Economic Policy, Yves Verboven, presented the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) Value-Based Procurement (VBP) framework as a way forward to incorporate quality criteria and the consideration of total cost of care.

In a speech titled “MEAT Value based procurement: an answer to economic challenges of Health Systems in Greece”, Yves Verboven stressed that MEAT VBP supports the necessary reforms needed to meet the economic challenges faced by healthcare systems in Greece:

“Procurement practices vary considerably between countries, regions, sectors and hospitals, but we often see that they do not result in the desired economic and social benefits. Current ‘price only’ based procurement inadvertently lead to risks for patients and to financial consequences for providers and society.

That is why we intend to establish a new framework for public procurement which is in line with the related EU Directive. We want to ensure a best price-quality ratio as wells as more beneficial financial offers at all levels.”

Event participants also addressed other key topics such as negotiations, the hospital challenges to consider quality within procurement, a lack of structural setup to measure outcomes and the steering towards centralised systems.

The Greek Symposium marked MedTech Week 2017, which was held between 19 and 23 June.