By Linda Rouse O’Neill, Senior Vice President for Supply Chain Policy, HIDA
The second annual HIDA Preparedness Summit convened a record number of federal, state, and local partners from key government agencies with leaders in the healthcare distribution industry to discuss efforts to build greater resilience into the medical supply chain.
HIDA brought together industry executives and federal partners as well as state and local public health representatives. Federal leaders from the various program offices at the Administration for Strategic Preparedness & Response (ASPR) attended – including the Strategic National Stockpile, the Industrial Base Management & Supply Chain, H-CORE, Office of Preparedness and PHEMCE.
Five key themes emerged from the summit.
Renew The Commitment To Public/Private Partnerships. The commercial market supply chain leaders and public partners from federal, state, and local public health agree partnerships are the only way for effective preparedness planning and response. Neither can do it alone. Both complement the other’s strengths.
Preserve Institutional Memory. Private sector partners agree that it is their responsibility as supply chain leaders to ensure that supply chain stakeholders, policymakers, and the public preserve institutional memory when it comes to future response efforts. Companies and public sector partners need to focus on transmitting these lessons learned to the next generation of leaders.
Data Is Critical. Informed decision making utilizing impactful data is important to preparedness planning and response. Such data has multiple uses. Data can detect supply chain disruptions, assist with demand planning, and allow public sector partners to direct resources to where they are needed most.
Achieve Communication Consensus. Any communications effort during supply chain disruptions must contain multiple linkages between partners. These linkages should be made among trading partners within the commercial market, between the commercial market and government partner at the local, state and federal levels, as well as among government partners. Stakeholders should take into account end users such as healthcare providers, retail settings, and the public.
Industrial Base. A strong industrial base is a key component of a strategic blend of global, near shored, and domestic product sourcing. However, a domestic industrial base requires a thoughtful approach so it is sustainable long-term. Federal partners can pre-screen companies capable of pivoting to produce medical-grade products for future pandemics and share that list with distributors and other supply chain stakeholders.
HIDA continues to serve as the key link between private sector companies and public sector agencies. With each passing year, it becomes more important to codify the best practices and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. HIDA continues to broaden and deepen the relationships between the public and private sector to encourage an ongoing dialogue on pandemic preparedness.