Resources

One way to lower costs for medical products is by procuring drugs and medical devices at competitive prices. Reference pricing—a process that compares the selling prices of a given product within a country/region or at the international level and calculates a benchmark for negotiating the final purchase price—is a powerful tool for reducing price disparities of medical devices across countries and regions and making public procurement of essential medical products more sustainable for growing health care needs.The Reference Pricing Guide provides an overview of steps to determine reference prices for durable medical devices using examples of products related to respiratory care. It includes a methodology for using domestic (internal) or international (external) reference pricing while describing factors that influence the prices of products. The guide considers reference pricing of durable medical devices used across many levels of health systems, from primary health care, general wards, and emergency transport, to intensive care units and specialized hospitals, and does not include single-use devices such as syringes or medical devices unable to withstand repeated use.This tool is part of the Oxygen Delivery Toolkit: Resources to plan and scale medical oxygen. The materials provided within the toolkit can be used together or separately, as needed. The complete toolkit is available at www.path.org/oxygen-delivery-toolkit.

A great deal of knowledge already exists in the global health community regarding maternal, neonatal, and child health (MNCH) medical devices and the challenges/barriers they face. But this knowledge is currently scattered across a variety of donor, partner, country, and academic sources, and as a result, is not easily accessible to the broader community. As such, PATH—under the Market Dynamics for MNCH Medical Devices project (MD4MD)—conducted a rapid desk research exercise focused on compiling information that was either publicly available or easily accessible, including: published literature, multilateral organization resources (such as policy briefs, technical reports, and guidelines); implementing partner projects (such as assessments, landscapes, and technical reports); donor investment documents; and expert interviews with relevant project leads and medical device experts.This evidence review focuses on eight specific devices: (1) manual blood pressure cuff (sphygmomanometer); (2) electric bCPAP device; (3) neonatal resuscitation device; (4) x-ray radiography machine; (5) point-of-care hemoglobin meter; (6) infusion device; (7) ultrasound (app-based “pocket” devices); and (8) ultrasound (traditional portable devices).The goal of these documents is to (1) summarize for policymakers and health system leaders the most important barriers that MNCH devices face, and (2) highlight potential interventions and key knowledge gaps to prioritize with future investments.

Ensuring the availability and scalability of affordable and quality-assured COVID-19 diagnostics that are appropriate for use in low-resource settings.

Fact Sheet: Advancing polio eradication: A rapid diagnostic test for primary immunodeficiency diseases

Fact Sheet: Highly sensitive tests for malaria- Identifying the final cases in areas close to elimination