What do we know about purchasing health care? A systematic literature review and research agenda

Health care reforms have resulted in the emergence of health care purchasing markets, in which care financers purchase health care from care providers. The purchasing of health care has received extensive scholarly attention, yet not from purchasing and supply management researchers. We conduct a systematic literature review of health care purchasing. Our main objective is to develop a research agenda for both health care management (HCM) and purchasing and supply management (PSM) scholars. We conclude, among other things, that specific purchasing topics such as specification of needs, category management, and supplier management deserve more attention in future research