More than $13,125 of medical supplies went missing last year, prompting the Bay of Plenty District Health Board to consider bringing in debt collectors.
The items include five $1050 CPAP machines, three $651 slings and a $2829 electric hoist.
However, the cost of chasing such items was not often worth it, acting chief executive Pete Chandler said.
The information came as part of an Official Information Act request into missing medical supplies.
Mr Chandler said it no longer tracked the missing items centrally due to "growth and changes in our service configuration" but expected individual departments to manage losses.