Health hopes to save 5 million auction electricity - iOnline

From next year the Ministry of Health will centralize the purchase of electricity, reams of paper, toners and mobile communications across the National Health Service yesterday Paulo Macedo pointed electricity as one of the fields in which it is urgent: an analysis of the costs of all health facilities revealed that there are hospitals and health centers to pay more than double per kilowatt / hour that units with more advantageous contracts.

Annually, the bill of the Ministry of Health with electricity around 60 million euros. With contests the guardianship plans to launch by the end of the year, we estimate that we can reduce spending 5 million next year. Today the average price of the kilowatt at peak is 0.09 euros, but Barreiro Montijo Hospital Center and Hospital in Figueira da Foz able to negotiate prices of 0.06 cents. Already in the regional health authorities of Lisbon, Alentejo and Centro, the value is close to 0.14 euros.

In a meeting with reporters sponsored by the Centre for Press, the minister pointed to combat these forms of waste by way of excess rents as a way to reduce the expense of the NHS. The centralized purchasing in these areas that go beyond the contests clinical consumables like medicines and devices already in place in the central purchasing of health, is expected since May. In recent months the hospitals and health facilities were to account for the central purchasing needs in areas such as communications, software licenses or material for copying and printing.

The deadline for the quantities that services necessary to understand to be a year of operation was the end of September. Now – as already happens for drugs or medical services – Shared Services of the Ministry of Health will draw lots on the basis of estimated quantities to submit a tender. These contests will result in selection of vendors and prices, to which the units are now being forced to order from 2014 instead of doing their own market surveys or contests adjustments directors and isolated. No estimate overall savings with this new step in the centralization of purchases, Health Minister exemplified some savings achieved by centralizing purchases this year has hitherto happened in a dispersed by services.

Savings In contraceptives, that news were the first electronic auctions this year, the authority reveals that there was a saving of 1.4 million euro (14% compared to the expense recorded in 2012). In mobile communications, for now only in some centralized offices, saved up 200,000 euros (46%). In printing supplies, changing only meant to spend to buy store brands, savings amounted to 5.4 million euros (67%). In software licenses, offices in the direct administration spared further 5.7 million (31%). It is this order that the ministry expects savings now extend to the entire sector.