Electrolyte analyser: standardise one make across the hospital

What you are actually buying

This is a small ion-selective electrode instrument, usually bought several at a time for critical care, casualty and the main laboratory. Quotes vary on the measured panel, with sodium, potassium and chloride joined by ionised calcium or lithium or not; on the sample types accepted and whether whole blood can go straight on; on stated electrode life; and on the form the consumables take, from integrated snap packs with sealed waste to separately bottled solutions. Because the ticket is modest, buyers treat it as a commodity and let each department order its own. The result is three makes in one hospital, three sets of electrodes on the shelf, and no leverage on any of them.

Why electrolyte analyser suits collective purchasing

Small unit price and large unit count is a good combination for pooling. The specification is short and clinically uncontroversial, so institutions agree one without argument, and a hospital standardised on a single make holds fewer spare electrodes and trains its staff once. Across a group of hospitals the recurring item, electrodes and reagent packs, becomes a quantity worth quoting on, which one instrument never is. Expect the gain to sit in the consumable schedule rather than the headline price, and write the pool that way: fixed electrode and pack prices for a defined term, with the instruments as the smaller half of the award.

How a pool for this runs

Also pooled under Laboratory & pathology