The Procurement Methods Development for Medical Supplies of the Community Hospitals Public Health Region 2 (Phitsanulok)

Abstract

This is a qualitative research with the following objectives: 1) to study the present conditions of medical equipment procurement of Community Hospital Area 2 (Pitsanuloke), problems and obstacles and to develop the methodology equipment procurement. In-depth interviews and group discussions were utilized among the 96 members of hospital directors/public health administrators, chief administrators, chief supply officers, chief registered nurses, specification verification committee, and audit committee.

The Research Results

Price bargaining method was found to be in accordance with the Office of the Prime Minister’s Regulations on Procurement of Supplies, B.E. 2535. Problems and obstacles were found as follows: The regulations were unclear and complicated, approvals were late, and purchasing procedures were time limited. As for the development of price negotiation method, though bidding was used in price verification, but the supply regulations of the Office of the Prime Minister, B.E. 2535 for purchasing of supplies at a price between 100,000 - 1,000,000 baht were unclear and left limited time for bidding. Besides, the e-marketing method was not used by hospitals.

The development of the e-marketing should be conducted consisting of free and open specification verification committee; no-interest parties’s ability to (secretly) criticize the draft TOR and requiring of bid guarantee money for the submission of bid of more than 1,000,000 baht per project. Electronic bidding was found to be convenient in avoiding the middle person company which will cut down steps of working activities and confrontation between the seller and the buyer, savings time, expense, resources and steps of working activities and transparency in the access of government budget.