05-09-2024

This summer we spoke with Mark Lindeman, one of the founders of QurioCare. The ‘why’ behind this digital platform was the main topic of discussion. According to Mark, a better organized market for medical supplies offers numerous opportunities on many different levels, for both buyers and suppliers.

The initial ideas behind QurioCare started to develop more than five years ago. What was the driving force behind this?

The pursuit of an effective and fair market for medical supplies is at the core of QurioCare. In a competitive market, organizations are stimulated to continuously improve, innovative, adopt sustainable practices and operate cost effectively. This applies to both suppliers and buyers - in this case healthcare institutions. Every player in the market shares the responsibility for this.

Are you saying that the medical supplies market is functioning sub-optimally?

If I were to say yes, this wouldn’t be accurate, but if I were to say no, that wouldn’t be entirely true either. Let’s say, there’s room for improvement.

Where do you see the potential for improvement?

There are a number of areas but I’ll focus on three.

The volume of medical supplies that cross the counter in a hospital is enormous. It is impossible to set up an effective purchasing department to deal with this. Many products are ordered systematically from existing suppliers instead of being purchased competitively. As a result, the market becomes 'lazy'. Suppliers see little to no opportunity to entice new customers and pull back.

Furthermore, I see real opportunities for hospitals to collaborate more closely. For example, by sharing product knowledge about medical supplies in the form of a shared statement of requirements and product specifications. In addition to avoiding a lot of duplication, this creates an opportunity to put out a single request for tenders to the market on behalf of multiple healthcare institutions at the same time.

I’ve also noted that the users of medical products are often not up to date with the latest developments in the market. Purchasers plays a crucial role here, by briefing users about potential alternatives. This also reduces supply risks if existing suppliers cannot deliver.

Collaborations between hospitals such as NFU, IAZ and Santeon already exist. What is QurioCare’s take on that?

Correct! And QurioCare has no intention of creating a new partnership.

Then what is your goal?

As I mentioned, the basis of the QurioCare platform lies in the pursuit of an effective and fair market for medical supplies. Given the complexity of the product portfolio and the volume of products, we have taken the opportunity to digitize the process of requesting and supply.

The platform has been designed in such a way that hospitals can form ad hoc coalitions to simultaneously put out a tender for a specific product to the market. In doing so, each hospital can indicate both generic and specific requirements for a product, as established by internal users. Suppliers can then see which requirements they can meet and, if interested, offer their product to one or more hospitals.

It's interesting that hospitals often have different requirements for products. How does that work on the platform?

True, the requirements of internal users at different hospitals can even differ. But that doesn’t mean that multiple suppliers can’t bid on it. The platform makes it straight forward and attractive for suppliers to respond to a tender. Ultimately, delivery will only be possible if the statement of requirements is met. This way, each participating hospital – and therefore the user – retains control and autonomy over the purchase of their medical supplies.

That’s easier said than done. How do you know for sure that the supplier can deliver the requested quality?

This is something that needs to be carefully checked as ultimately, this concerns medical products. First, we check with the participating healthcare institutions that the supplier's offer complies with the statement of requirements. A verification test then takes place with the users if desired. Only after a green light has been given by internal users can suppliers compete on price.

Indeed, QurioCare doesn’t offer a new partnership. But what then?

In my opinion, QurioCare can best be described as an independent, digital platform that organizes and matches the supply and demand of medical supplies. It enables healthcare institutions to easily collaborate with each other and share product knowledge. And it gives suppliers the opportunity to differentiate themselves more clearly, compete on a level playing field and provides access to multiple healthcare institutions at once.

There are still many unanswered questions! If people want to know more, how can they reach you?

Email ne at mark.lindeman@qurio.care.

Mark Lindeman