October 28, 2022 – The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has created a feeling of uncertainty in both the general public and the medical community. While we can’t predict what’s in store for the upcoming respiratory season, COVID-19 will remain a challenge in tandem with other seasonal illnesses.
Are you prepared to respond with the correct diagnostic testing equipment and services?
Without question, COVID-19 testing demands have outweighed the supply. Manufacturers, suppliers and distributors were under enormous pressure to keep up with demand as new COVID-19 variants caused a surge in cases across the globe. From shortages of raw materials and staffing, transportation delays and other global disruptions, we don’t anticipate the high demands to end anytime soon.
Through advanced planning efforts and strong supplier relationships, many health systems were able to successfully navigate the testing landscape with little disruption to patient care. The most successful augmented their lab and point-of-care (POC) testing capabilities with flexible lab management plans and seamless shifts to alternate testing platforms.
“The number one lesson learned is that labs must be proactive instead of reactive to get what they need,” said Aaron Hurst, laboratory supervisor, Newton Medical Center (NMC).
“Just-in-time (JIT) inventory during a pandemic is not effective and with the help of our distributors and supplier partners, we have learned to adjust and proactively prepare with multiple testing platforms to diversify our testing options.” If NMC faced allocation issues or shortages for reagents or testing platforms, Aaron’s lab was better prepared with the necessary supplies.
McKesson Medical-Surgical works with health systems across the U.S. to provide customized point-of-care lab solutions and services to provide patients with accurate and rapid diagnoses through a variety of testing modalities.