Capital Procurement Cooperative Webcast Q & A 

The webcast has now been archived and is available online, to view please click here  

Highlights detailed in the webcast include:

·         An overview of the mandate and design of the CPC

·         Introduction to the CPC Procurement Team

·         Breakdown of the CPC procurement process

·         Proposed procurement schedule and timelines   

Webcast Q&A:

1. Will hospitals be required to accept the choice of the majority of participants or will they be able to make their own product selection?

Following an evaluation process, hospitals will have autonomy of choice in determining what equipment best fulfills the needs of their organization.  Equipment

standardization is not the objective of CPC and each hospital participating in the procurement process will determine their final vendor of choice.

2. If everyone gets to make their own choice, that would imply a unique set of evaluation criteria per participating

hospital. Could you please comment?

Although the scoring methodology for the evaluation process will be developed as a group, evaluations will be conducted

independently by each hospital leading to a consensus evaluation by each individual hospital.  The CPC’s goal is for hospitals

to purchase the best possible equipment for their organization and patient population.

3. Can a hospital participate if they are typically standardized to a certain vendor?

Hospitals who have a contract with a specific vendor should honour the terms of those agreements.  Where additional, non

contracted capital must be procured, aggregated volumes with other participants can contribute to dynamic negotiation for new

contracts through the CPC.  The CPC will use a fair, open and transparent procurement process in alignment with the BPS

Procurement Directive when going to market, individual hospitals will be able to select the equipment that best meets their

needs. The CPC aims to deliver value for participating hospitals regardless of whether a legacy vendor or an alternative vendor

is selected.

4. How does the system accommodate regional standardization of DI equipment?

The OHA recognizes that hospitals may be moving toward regional standardization and encourages regions to take advantage

of the CPC as a means to procure this capital.  In such instances, evaluation and arriving at a consensus on the preferred

equipment would occur at a regional level. 

5. There is at least one other provider out there that provides this service. Could you please comment how the

OHA's Capital Procurement initiative differs from others already out there?

The OHA’s objective is for the hospitals of Ontario to achieve the best value on their capital equipment procurements and

believes that participating in collaborative capital procurements is an important way to achieve this objective.  Where multiple

providers of this kind of program are available, the OHA encourages hospitals to use the group capital procurement option that

best fulfill the needs of their organization.  For its part, the CPC is providing a comprehensive fee for service approach to

collaborative capital procurement that does not make use of rebates.  The CPC is dedicated to following the BPS Procurement

Directive, is customer focused, provides supportive legal services, and is committed to helping hospitals close contracts in a

timely manner.

6. Can you please clarify, at a high level what will this program will be providing during the procurement process,

and what will be left up to the hospital/organization?

During the procurement hospital delegates will be required to actively participate throughout the process, including being

responsible for securing budget approval, communicating specific requirements and procedures to colleagues, facilitating  the

evaluation of bids, participating in the negotiation process, and assisting with the contract closeout.  The CPC team will lead the

research and writing of the RFP, manage the RFP while out to market, arrange administrative tasks including organizing vendor

meetings and maintaining document libraries, provide standardized legal support, lead vendor negotiations and assist with

contract closeouts. 

7. When the OHA is looking to gather information and interest from hospitals would the hospital send the

information through the SSO or would the member hospital send the information directly to the OHA?

The OHA is committed to delivering a service that best suits an organization’s existing SSO relationship.  To this end, the OHA

will accommodate situations where a hospital is accustomed to working autonomously as well as situations where the hospital

prefers there be active SSO representation.  Both hospitals and their SSOs will be required to sign a joint memorandum of

understanding at the beginning of the DI procurement to clarify respective roles and responsibilities.

8. Can you participate even if you are not planning on purchasing the equipment for the next year i.e. 2-3 years?

 Yes, hospitals are able to participate in the procurement process even if equipment will not be purchased for the next few years,

however hospitals will be required to sign a vendor contract by the end of the CPC procurement.  As the procurement process

can be very labour intensive, capital planning can greatly increase efficiency and timeline accuracy.  That said, since new DI

technologies are constantly emerging, procuring equipment too far in advance may present some challenges if needs and

expectations have changed before the equipment is delivered.  To provide hospitals with the opportunity to participate in a

collaborative procurement at the time that is right for their organization, the CPC will run DI procurement processes twice a year

for each of the next three years.  

9. Can you please confirm that the initial RFP will include all DI modalities?

Yes, all equipment modalities within the DI category are being invited for this procurement. 

10. Has the CPC created a list of equipment and related schedule outside of the DI equipment category?

The CPC intends to publish a schedule of future, non-DI procurements in the spring of 2012.  For future procurements the OHA

will again reach out to member hospitals and identify high demand categories that lend themselves to group purchasing.

11. Is the intent to run multiple RFP's at the same time? Does PPI Consulting have the resources to run multiple

initiatives at the same time?

PPI Consulting was hired exclusively for the CPC’s semi-annual DI procurements.  These procurements are conducted mostly

on a consecutively.  The CPC will openly procure for Bid Administration Services for additional equipment categories, just as it

did for the DI procurements.  

12. Will there be consideration given to the size of the hospital when setting the fees for participating in the CPC

purchases?

Regardless of hospital size the CPC is offering the same low participation fee.  When designing an appropriate fee structure

the OHA determined that a low, one-time transaction fee would be most appropriate for the CPC.  Through this fee, hospitals

will receive significant procurement expertise and services, the support of the CPC’s legal team, as well as the benefits that

come through the OHA having managed a group of hospitals to come together to increase their purchasing power.  

13. Who is involved in the negotiation process? Does the hospital lead the negotiation process?

Hospitals (and/or their SSO as appropriate) are encouraged to play an active role in the negotiation process, however PPI

Consulting is contracted to lead vendor negotiations.  PPI Consulting has extensive experience leading negotiations and is very

comfortable in that role.

14. Will you report on the results after the first procurement?

After the completion of the first equipment RFP, participating hospitals will be asked to complete a customer satisfaction

survey.  This practice is designed to capture the success of the procurement and to make necessary changes for the next

procurement.  In addition, hospitals will be asked to assist in developing baseline pricing against which the results of the CPC

contracts can be evaluated.  The CPC will provide participants with a procurement summary including capital savings obtained,

hospital feedback, and lessoned learned.  These results will also allow the CPC to share results with prospective participants as

appropriate.

15. How is it justified to go with a vendor that didn't win the evaluation process?

Following the BSP Procurement Directive, hospitals must follow a rigorous evaluation process to identify which vendor best

fulfils the needs of their organization.  The process will be fair and transparent, hospitals will have control of their evaluation

process and will identify the highest ranked vendor for their organization.   In a group purchasing environment there may be

multiple successful bidders selected by different hospitals.

16. Are you planning on hosting a vendor information webinar to bring them up to speed on the new process?

In the near future the OHA will meet with the DI vendor community and detail the upcoming DI procurement.

For more frequently asked questions regarding the CPC please click here

For the latest CPC developments and upcoming events please visit www.oha.com/cpc