Developing a Comprehensive Selection Framework for Centralized Pharmaceutical Procurement Based on a Hybrid Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Approach

Developing a Comprehensive Selection Framework for Centralized Pharmaceutical Procurement Based on a Hybrid Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Approach | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Developing a Comprehensive Selection Framework for Centralized Pharmaceutical Procurement Based on a Hybrid Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Approach Jie Zhao, Youhong Hu, Yun Lu, Shuzhang Du, Yan Liang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6849760/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background China’s National Centralized Drug Procurement (NCDP) policy faces challenges in reconciling procurement mandates with clinical appropriateness. A robust decision-making framework for drug selection is critical to comprehensively evaluate centralized procurement processes. Existing studies lack systematic analysis of decision-influencing factors, while overreliance on single normalization methods often introduces outcome uncertainties. Methods To address these gaps, this study developed a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework. It integrates the Double Normalization-based Multiple Aggregation (DNMA) method with Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC) and Multiplicative Analytic Hierarchy Process (MAHP) to establish a screening and selection system. The factor system was constructed through literature review and Delphi surveys. Results (a) A decision factor system for evaluating centralized procurement drugs was established, comprising 8 dimensions and 15 critical criteria. (b) A real-world case study confirmed that the framework effectively captures nonlinear interdependencies among decision factors, enhancing the scientific rigor and transparency of outcomes. Conclusions This study advances scientifically grounded, systematic drug selection for centralized procurement. By proposing a feasible MCDM framework, it facilitates effective NCDP implementation and precise policy allocation, strengthening the alignment between procurement efficiency and clinical appropriateness. Centralized Procurement Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Probabilistic Linguistic Term Double Normalization-based Multiple Aggregation Nonlinear correlation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementaryMaterial.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers invited by journal 15 Jul, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 09 Jul, 2025 Editor invited by journal 17 Jun, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 16 Jun, 2025 First submitted to journal 16 Jun, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6849760","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":486012026,"identity":"4a572547-3f61-40db-9383-6889768d954f","order_by":0,"name":"Jie 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A robust decision-making framework for drug selection is critical to comprehensively evaluate centralized procurement processes. Existing studies lack systematic analysis of decision-influencing factors, while overreliance on single normalization methods often introduces outcome uncertainties.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMethods\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo address these gaps, this study developed a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework. It integrates the Double Normalization-based Multiple Aggregation (DNMA) method with Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC) and Multiplicative Analytic Hierarchy Process (MAHP) to establish a screening and selection system. The factor system was constructed through literature review and Delphi surveys.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eResults\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(a) A decision factor system for evaluating centralized procurement drugs was established, comprising 8 dimensions and 15 critical criteria. (b) A real-world case study confirmed that the framework effectively captures nonlinear interdependencies among decision factors, enhancing the scientific rigor and transparency of outcomes.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eConclusions\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study advances scientifically grounded, systematic drug selection for centralized procurement. By proposing a feasible MCDM framework, it facilitates effective NCDP implementation and precise policy allocation, strengthening the alignment between procurement efficiency and clinical appropriateness.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Developing a Comprehensive Selection Framework for Centralized Pharmaceutical Procurement Based on a Hybrid Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Approach","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-07-17 17:04:56","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6849760/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-07-15T15:14:44+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-07-09T07:12:05+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-06-17T10:12:50+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-06-17T03:07:05+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Health Services Research","date":"2025-06-17T03:02:10+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-health-services-research","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"bhsr","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Health Services Research](http://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/BHSR/default.aspx","title":"BMC Health Services Research","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"bff7de70-737e-42b8-b789-688dca379485","owner":[],"postedDate":"July 17th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-07-17T17:04:58+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-07-17 17:04:56","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6849760","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6849760","identity":"rs-6849760","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}