The world has changed. So too has demand for and supply of personal protective equipment
Almost overnight, the conversations changed.
For years the importance of infection prevention for suppliers and providers would be brought up in the healthcare market. It was never a sexy topic; there were always more interesting products to discuss.
However, COVID-19 changed all of that. The market woke up earlier this year and became familiar and compliant with PPE almost overnight.
An industry-leading infection control expert recently talked with Repertoire Publisher Scott Adams on how the market has shifted to meet the unprecedented demand for PPE, and what the future may hold for med/surg companies. The following were insights gleaned from that discussion.
How drastic was the shift in thinking?
The sudden change was comparable to how the world reacted following the September 11 attacks. Everyone thinks of the world before 9-11 and after 9-11. This is a comparable event. It’s affected all areas of society. We all take personal protection and infection prevention very seriously.
Markets that never wore face masks are now expected to wear face protection
The whole U.S. opened up to it. You see it every time you go to the grocery store.
In the healthcare space, now both caregivers and patients are wearing face masks. New market segments like extended care are now wearing face masks, face shields, and N95 masks for the first time.
Although there are new market opportunities opening, the focus for distributors must be their existing customers right now. Demand has spiked to a degree that distributors need to watch service levels closely. They can’t think about new market opportunities because they have to service existing markets that are at that huge demand spike.
The market is strained “across the board”
Growth in product categories related to infection prevention has gone from incremental to explosive. It’s not like in the past where hand hygiene market growth would be 5% a year. Now the category is growing at 200% of what it was pre-COVID.
In the beginning of the pandemic, there was a focus on N95 masks in the marketplace. Everybody had to get an N95 mask, and no one knew where to get them. There was not enough production. Then the demand and attention shifted to all the other products that basically you use for same reasons, such as personal protection, or barriers or to kill a pathogen. The market is super strained across the board.
Supply chain pressures will shift
PPE may be starting to get under control, but other areas have begun to fill the strain.
For instance, with infection prevention, are there enough pumps for the hand sanitizer bottles? What about canisters for wipes, and the lids to those canisters? What about labels or packaging for N95 masks? It’s not just the supplier, but that supplier’s supplier. The supply chain branches out, it’s six degrees of separation.
Testing for COVID-19 has put a strain on diagnostic supplies. When a vaccine is developed, there will be a surge in demand for all the products needed to administer the vaccinations. It’s the product you don’t think about, like alcohol prep pads.
Where to store all of it?
Across the nation, distribution centers are filled with the influx of PPE products. The supply chain has to move faster, accelerate. Facilities are consuming this product quickly, which will be replenished faster through the supply chain, but nobody has space for it.
Geographical diversity will be critical
The world is now going to be using a lot more personal protection. Med/surg companies all need to diversify their geographic sources of product.
There have been several manufacturers that have or are in the midst of adding production lines of various types of PPE. There are also some very well-known manufacturers from outside of healthcare that have stepped up for the short term.
People pick on China for the shortages, but you could apply that to any country. COVID-19 is everywhere. It shut down China. It could just as easily shut down Mexico, Malaysia, India – any place you’re sourcing product from. So to have the bulk of your supply coming from any sole geographic area is a risk.
Even domestically, there could be issues. For instance, what happens if a manufacturer is in a hot zone and unable to produce product at normal levels?
State by state
How much of the demand for caregivers varies due to state-by-state requirements of PPE they have on-hand in order to operate? Each state is on a different timeline, so there are 50 different answers to the question.
How healthcare will look moving forward
There is now a focus on infection prevention and a heightened awareness of personal protection. There will be greater compliance of these products because it’s now been part of everyone’s life for the past six months.
Sidebar:
The anthrax scare
COVID-19 is not the first time there has been a health scare that caused a massive demand in PPE. In 2001, anthrax attacks occurred in the United States over the course of several weeks beginning one week after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to several news media offices and elected officials, killing five people and infecting 17 others.
During the anthrax scare, the United States Postal Service (USPS) wanted PPE for the 500,000 people that handled the mail, according to the PPE business expert. “They said ‘We’re going to put nitrile exam gloves on anybody who touches the mail,’” the expert told Repertoire. “There isn’t that much production in the world that you can get to the USPS overnight.”
Conceptually it sounds right and looks good on paper. “But those involved with PPE manufacturing understand there is just not that much product in the world to move that quickly to those who have never worn it before.”