Analysis of total cost of ownership (TCO) applied to processes of biomedical technology acquisition competitive intelligence

The assessment of biomedical technology framed in the Ministry of Social Protection Decree # 4725 of 2005 performed as part of the acquisition processes is of great importance for health care institutions in Colombia.. Medical technology, being costly and complex, requires detailed processes with rigorous methodologies that guarantee an accurate assessment and transparent acquisition process. The most important aspects to consider, although not the only one is the economic assessment, which has always had a great weight in the assessment processes, even when not many variables are considered and financial projections over time are not always carried out. This paper aims to incorporate variables as the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), the technology life cycle, and the Net Present Value, in the process of economic evaluation. Additionally, the paper presents one of the most representative results obtained in the acquisition processes carried out during the last five years in different health care institutions in Colombia, the assessment of a PET-CT using the proposed methodology.