Public procurement of medical devices in Swedish healthcare

Since 1994, the Public Procurement Act has undergone changes aimed to improve the procurement process and promoting innovation. In order to promote innovation there are a number of government agencies that offer financial assistance, especially to small business with innovative ideas. Despite these efforts, newly established small businesses have difficulties entering the market. The study investigates whether changes have been made in the public procurement of medical devices with regard to price and quality prioritization. The priority criteria is presented by the contracting authority as percentage in the allocation criteria. The study is limited to in vitro diagnostic products contracting in Swedish healthcare between the years 2009 and 2015. All tenders, companies that apply for participation in procurement, were analyzed based on sales, number of employees and year of establishment with the purpose of evaluating differences between winning tenders and other tenders. The result shows that prioritization has been increasingly on price rather than the quality. Regarding the winning tenders the study shows that larger, more established companies dominates the market. Noteworthy is that this dominance has increased over theses last years. The increase may be due to a spiral effect that is created when winning tenders get an increased economic power.