NACE 86 – Human Health Activities | Public Tenders

NACE 86: Health services in public tenders. Medical services, hospital procurement, CPV codes and contracting authorities.

Definition: NACE 86 covers medical and dental practice activities, inpatient hospital treatment as well as outpatient health services. The healthcare sector is one of the largest procurement markets of the public sector, both for medical goods and for services.

What does NACE 86 cover?

NACE 86 (Human health activities) classifies hospitals, medical practices, outpatient care services and specialised health institutions — hospitals and public health bodies are at the same time significant contracting authorities.

Group	Title	Typical services
86.1	Hospital activities	Full inpatient acute care, university hospitals, specialist clinics
86.2	Medical and dental practice activities	Resident doctors, specialist practices, outpatient clinics
86.9	Other human health activities	Physiotherapy, midwifery, ambulance services

Public Tenders – Health services

Public hospitals and health authorities procure medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, consumables and external services in substantial volumes — one of the largest public procurement markets.

Typical types of contract

Large medical equipment: MRI, CT, X-ray systems, surgical robots for hospitals
Medical consumables: Implants, single-use products, surgical materials, laboratory consumables
Pharmaceuticals procurement: Framework agreements for medicines, vaccines, blood products
Ambulance services and patient transport: Concessions and contracts for ambulance and patient transport services
Specialist medical services: Radiology diagnostics, pathology, dialysis treatment by external providers

Relevant CPV codes

CPV code	Title	Scope
85100000	Health services	General health services
85111000	Hospital services	Inpatient treatment, surgical services
85121000	Medical practice services	Outpatient specialist services
33000000	Medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and personal care products	Medical devices, equipment
33600000	Pharmaceutical products	Pharmaceutical procurement
85143000	Ambulance services	Emergency services, emergency care

Contracting authorities

Typical contracting authorities under NACE 86 are:

University hospitals and hospital associations: Large-scale procurement of medical devices and equipment
Health ministries and health agencies: Vaccine procurement, pandemic stockpiles
Social security institutions: Panel-doctor systems, therapeutic products procurement
Rescue organisations under public mandate: Red Cross, ASB as concessionaires
Bundeswehr and police: Military medical service, medical equipment

FAQ

Are health services special services under procurement law? Yes — health services fall under "special services" pursuant to Annex XIV of Directive 2014/24/EU with an elevated threshold of EUR 750,000. Below this, national procedures apply. Supply contracts (equipment, pharmaceuticals) are subject to the normal supply thresholds.

How are ambulance service concessions awarded? In Austria and Germany, ambulance services are frequently awarded as service concessions under national emergency-service law. Since the Concession Directive (2014/23/EU), transparency and competition rules also apply from the threshold of EUR 5,538,000.

NACE Q – Human Health and Social Work Activities: Parent section
NACE 86.1 – Hospital activities: Subgroup inpatient care
NACE 86.9 – Other human health activities: Subgroup outpatient services
NACE 87 – Residential care activities: Related division residential-care facilities

Last updated: January 2026