February 19, 2021 – Premier Inc. (Charlotte, NC) has published a new blog exploring the dynamics behind current N95 supply and demand in response to a recent New York Times article.
The New York Times article explored a head-scratching juxtaposition: Healthcare providers are rationing N95 respirators, seemingly because they are not easily procured, while some manufacturers have millions in inventory that they cannot sell.
How does such a market dynamic exist – particularly for a PPE product that was in such demand last year?
The truth is that the market for N95 respirators remains constrained but not in active shortage, Premier says.
The GPO says that its members says they are continuing to work to increase their safety stocks, but that any changes to current levels of supply and demand could quickly compromise this fragile market and bring us back to an acute shortage situation. This is why N95s remain on protective allocation from all the major manufacturers and distributors – and why healthcare providers are cautiously evaluating their conservation protocols.
As a result, hospitals and health systems are not aggressively overbuying N95s, nor are they lifting their conservation and reuse protocols, Premier says. The recipe is two parts steady state with a pinch of potential volatility.
Other key dynamics Premier explores that are affecting today’s N95 supply and demand are:
- More Days on Hand of N95s – but Not Enough to Pull Back on Conservation
- Increased Production
- Fit Testing and Standardization
- An Inclination Toward Reliable, Known Companies