UNIHA | Union of Hospitals for Purchasing

French hospital procurement union

The Union of Hospitals for Procurement (UNIHA) is a French central purchasing body grouping public healthcare institutions. It pools procurement of medicines, medical devices, and services to secure better economic conditions.

UNIHA supports cost rationalisation and optimized hospital supply chains.

UniHA (Union des Hôpitaux pour les Achats) is a national cooperative purchasing network created by French public hospitals to centralise and optimise procurement across a wide range of healthcare products and services.

Established in 2005, UniHA brings together hundreds of public hospitals and university hospital centres (CHUs) to negotiate contracts, secure competitive pricing, and ensure access to high-quality medical goods, pharmaceuticals, technologies, and operational services.

UniHA is one of the largest public hospital purchasing groups in Europe.

The primary mission of UniHA is to strengthen the efficiency and performance of public hospital procurement by:

• Pooling purchasing power to obtain better prices and service conditions.
• Improving quality and safety of medical supplies and hospital services.
• Reducing procurement complexity through coordinated tendering and framework agreements.
• Supporting innovation by facilitating access to new technologies and healthcare solutions.
• Optimising hospital budgets, particularly in high-spend therapeutic and technological areas.

UniHA operates within French public procurement regulations and ensures transparency and compliance in all tendering processes.

1. Centralised Procurement

Members participate voluntarily in joint purchasing programmes covering pharmaceuticals, medical devices, biomedical equipment, digital health, energy, logistics, and more.

2. Thematic Purchasing “Segments”

Procurement is organised into thematic segments led by expert hospital teams. Examples include:

• Pharmacy & medicines
• Medical devices
• IT and digital systems
• Energy and utilities
• Laboratory and diagnostics
• Hospital catering and services

Each segment designs tenders, evaluates suppliers, and manages framework contracts.

3. Competitive Tendering

UniHA conducts public tenders on behalf of its members, ensuring compliance with French and EU public procurement law.

4. Contract Access for Member Hospitals

Once a supplier is selected, hospitals can join the framework agreement and benefit from negotiated pricing and service conditions.

Membership is open to French public hospitals — including CHUs, regional hospitals, specialised centres, and territorial hospital groups (GHTs).

Participation in each purchasing programme is optional but offers significant financial and operational benefits.

UniHA plays a crucial role in the French hospital ecosystem by:

• Strengthening procurement efficiency
• Reducing costs through large-scale negotiation
• Supporting sustainable and innovative purchasing strategies
• Harmonising procurement practices across public hospitals

Its actions contribute to better allocation of health resources and improved access to high-quality medical products for hospitals and patients.