Janaury 17, 2023 – The Girl Scouts, the Boy Scouts and the U.S. Coast Guard have the right idea: They’re always prepared. It says so in their mottos. How about the healthcare supply chain? Not quite, as COVID-19 demonstrated. However, since March 2020, lawmakers and supply chain organizations have instituted and promoted many safeguards to better prepare us for next time. They include:
- CARES Act
- Trucking Action Plan
- Freight Logistics Optimization Works initiative
- Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022
- PREVENT Pandemics Act
- A “fast pass” system for medical supplies and equipment
So, can we say we are “always prepared?” Maybe not. But it’s safe to say we are better prepared.
“Partnerships and information-sharing between the commercial market and federal agencies have never been stronger,” says Linda Rouse O’Neill, vice president, supply chain policy, and executive branch relations, Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA). Over 10 federal partners participated in discussions with supply chain executives at HIDA’s Pandemic Preparedness Summit on how to continue to build on the partnership, the future of data sharing and communications, she says.
Read more in the latest issue of Journal of Healthcare Contracting.