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

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.