December 2023- The Journal of Healthcare Contracting
As a proponent of public-private partnerships, HIDA continues to link stakeholders in the medical supply chain with relevant government agencies focused on preparedness. Recently, HIDA has deepened this commitment with outreach to state and local preparedness and public health officials. These relationships have resulted in the development of useful tools for providers and distributors alike.
Medical product distributors are the essential link between global healthcare supply manufacturers and local care providers. HIDA members operate more than 500+ distribution centers to bring critical products, supplies, and services to more than 560,000 healthcare settings across the U.S., including hospitals, long-term care, physician practices, home care, and laboratories. These critical products such as PPE, needles and syringes, lab testing products, infection prevention products are needed in virtually all public health emergencies.
- Healthcare distributors were key in last mile delivery to get PPE and other supplies to providers during the COVID-19 response.
- Healthcare distributors collaborated directly with federal partners during COVID-19 in a data-sharing initiative known as the Supply Chain Control Tower.
- Healthcare distributors provided subject matter expertise on the following tools that assist providers in planning for emergencies and assessing their supply chains.
HIDA has taken the lead in facilitating relationships between the medical supply chain and government agencies at the local, state, and federal levels. The second annual HIDA Preparedness Summit convened a record number of government partners from key agencies with leaders in the healthcare distribution industry to discuss efforts to build greater resilience into the medical supply chain. In addition to federal leaders from the Administration for Strategic Preparedness & Response (ASPR) and the Strategic National Stockpile, the 2023 Summit included leaders from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO).
Furthermore, HIDA is collaborating with stakeholders to produce useful resources to advance preparedness goals.
- HIDA has developed a checklist for coordinating with federal, state, and local authorities to ensure access during a disaster. This checklist urges suppliers and distributors to collaborate with providers as well as state and local authorities to identify their needs.
- HIDA provided subject matter expertise to ASPR TRACIE for the Disaster Available Supplies In Hospitals (DASH) tool. This is an interactive tool that helps hospital emergency planners and supply chain staff estimate supply needs during various public health scenarios.
- In collaboration with ASPR, HIDA published a Preparedness Playbook to monitor the medical supply chain and coordinate production and distribution during a public health emergency. Public and private stakeholders developed criteria to determine when the supply chain is in one of three conditions – Steady State (Condition Green), Potential Disruptions (Condition Yellow), or Overwhelmed Supply Chain (Condition Red).
Neither the private sector nor public sector alone possess the full scope of capabilities, infrastructure, funding, nor expertise needed to adequately provide for pandemic preparedness and response in the United States. Instead, supply chain collaboration can highlight the complementary roles of the commercial supply chain and all levels of government. The private sector is scaled to make, source, and distribute medical products to our nation’s healthcare providers across the care continuum. Public partners can provide the planning, funding, and prioritization to create a cohesive response.