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Lowering Prices of Pharmaceuticals, Medical Supplies, and Equipment: Insights from Big Data for Better Procurement Strategies in Latin America

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dc.contributor.authorFazekas, Mihály
dc.contributor.authorBorges de Oliveira, Alexandre
dc.contributor.authorRegos, Nora
dc.date.accessioned2021-06-10T14:05:19Z
dc.date.available2021-06-10T14:05:19Z
dc.date.issued2021-06
dc.description.abstractContaining rapidly growing health care costs in the Latin American and the Caribbean region, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, requires an in-depth analysis of prices from a novel perspective. This paper documents hitherto understudied variations in prices paid for pharmaceuticals, equipment, and medical supplies within countries and markets. It also identifies effective procurement strategies for lowering prices within existing regulatory frameworks. The analysis uses public procurement data gathered by governments’ electronic procurement systems in nine countries and territories across the region. The data are uniquely detailed and complete, encompassing the minute detail of purchasing decisions and processes made across all regulated public entities in the study countries and territories. Traditional regression analysis and machine learning (random forests) methods are used to explain prices as a function of procurement decisions and outputs, such as the number of bidders. Based on in-depth discussions with policy makers, the paper also devises realistic policy interventions, which in turn can be used to estimate savings scenarios. First, the findings show that the prices paid vary greatly across and within countries. The latter is surprising given that the regulatory and institutional framework is largely fixed within each country. Second, a high proportion of within-country and -market variation can be explained by standard features of procurement policy implementation, such as the length of advertising tenders. Third, the explanatory models point to the potential for lowering prices across the region by about 14 percent by implementing low-level, yet impactful changes to how purchasing is done.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/110791622827821491/Lowering-Prices-of-Pharmaceuticals-Medical-Supplies-and-Equipment-Insights-from-Big-Data-for-Better-Procurement-Strategies-in-Latin-America
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-9689
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/35726
dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherWorld Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPolicy Research Working Paper;No. 9689
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo
dc.subjectPHARMACEUTICALS
dc.subjectPROCUREMENT
dc.subjectAUCTIONS
dc.subjectHEALTH CARE COSTS
dc.titleLowering Prices of Pharmaceuticals, Medical Supplies, and Equipmenten
dc.title.subtitleInsights from Big Data for Better Procurement Strategies in Latin Americaen
dc.typeWorking Paperen
dc.typeDocument de travailfr
dc.typeDocumento de trabajoes
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.crossref.titleLowering Prices of Pharmaceuticals, Medical Supplies, and Equipment : Insights from Big Data for Better Procurement Strategies in Latin America
okr.date.disclosure2021-06-04
okr.date.doiregistration2025-04-10T11:13:22.020282Z
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.doctypePublications & Research::Policy Research Working Paper
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/110791622827821491/Lowering-Prices-of-Pharmaceuticals-Medical-Supplies-and-Equipment-Insights-from-Big-Data-for-Better-Procurement-Strategies-in-Latin-America
okr.guid110791622827821491
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-9689
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum090224b08868e1ab_3_0
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum33142299
okr.identifier.reportWPS9689
okr.importedtrueen
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/110791622827821491/pdf/Lowering-Prices-of-Pharmaceuticals-Medical-Supplies-and-Equipment-Insights-from-Big-Data-for-Better-Procurement-Strategies-in-Latin-America.pdfen
okr.region.administrativeLatin America and Caribbean
okr.region.geographicalCaribbean
okr.region.geographicalLatin America
okr.topicHealth, Nutrition and Population::Health Economics & Finance
okr.topicHealth, Nutrition and Population::Pharmaceuticals & Pharmacoeconomics
okr.unitLatin America and the Caribbean Region
relation.isSeriesOfPublication26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
relation.isSeriesOfPublication.latestForDiscovery26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
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