Abstract:

The pandemic has disrupted most activities in public and private entities and created serious disruptions in consumers’ supply. Healthcare contracting authorities, overburdened by the effects of the pandemic but also by the lack of essential commodities, have tried to maintain a balance between providing health services and managing public funds properly. During the pandemic, the award of public contracts in the medical sector was largely governed by the rules imposed by the state of emergency.

The research carried out proposes an analysis of the evolution of public procurement contracts in the health sector during the period 2019-2021, in terms of the award procedures applied, the categories of products purchased and the contracting authorities. Based on these results, but also on the lessons learned in the pandemic, future studies can determine the reforms/policies that should be carried out in the field of public procurement so that contracting authorities can also fulfil their mission under crisis/disaster situations. The results of the research carried out in the field of equipment and medical products procurement may be of interest to economic operators for rethinking and developing their business strategy in the medical field, but also to public authorities for encouraging the healthcare industry at national level.