Last month, HealthPRO’s Pharmacy Advisory Council (PAC) gathered experts from across the country to discuss contract awards for this cycle. The two-day virtual meeting focused on Oncology and Anesthetic Gases.

To kick off day one, the committee was joined by HealthPRO’s President and CEO, Renato Discenza:

“Our system is under strain and particularly I would say on the pharmacy side, I’m sure it is challenging to balance everything you’re doing, but this work is for us, is the core of what we do, working with our members.” 

For PAC meetings, this means including member pharmacists, pharmacy technician buyers, and procurement specialists to make the best decisions on contracts.

Here are some key highlights from the two-day meeting.

Day One

The first day of PAC focused on a brief overview from Marc Mohammed, Manager Pharmacy, of the PS22 RFP process, which covered changes including moving from a 60 to 90 days holding for critical items, having more current sales data, and the weighting criteria for decisions. Dawn Jennings, Clinical Director, presented the analysis and decision algorithm for split award recommendations.

Wrapping up the presentation, the committee saw the overall impact of the Off-Patent Oncology Items RFP. Acceptance of the recommendations presented will result in a 17 per cent savings, or $10.8 million in annual savings on a national scale for this package of drugs.

Other key elements presented and discussed included a summary of the creative proposals from suppliers, as well as key product evaluation differences. 

“When we go out nationally, when we work together, we send a very strong message to our suppliers that this is how we do business and they are confident that when they get the award, they will have that national volume they need to stay in the market,” said Christine Donaldson, Vice President, Pharmacy, HealthPRO. “Kudos to all of you who are part of this process because I think this is really a great success.” 

Day Two

 

The second day of the meeting focused on Anesthetic Gases and PH23 planning. Sharon Seow, Clinical Director for Pharmacy kicked off the meeting, which saw some new faces from the day before. Members of the Pharmacy team spoke to Pharmacy Innovation as well as some of the highlights and changes to the contracts, including the addition of sustainability procurement information.

“As a contracting organization, HealthPRO firmly believes there is a role in including sustainability procurement to help members select the best product while considering environmental impact” noted Sharon.

An overview of the sustainability questions, added to the RFP process for the first time was presented.

Tracy Gallina took the committee through feedback as it related to barcodes and an in-depth review of product evaluation criteria to give assurance of quality. Finally, Shivani Sounthararasa walked members through the Decision Support Toolkit, which will help each member make the best choice for their organization for this multi-supplier contract.

Overall, 72 PAC members and guests attended the meetings, and 87 contracts were awarded.