Supply Chain Shortfalls Pose Risks to Patient Care

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Healthcare providers and device suppliers, specifically distributors, were not prepared to address the scope and scale of the COVID-19 pandemic and its powerful impact on medical device supply chains. The pandemic fueled a "perfect storm": a crisis of international scale, with multiple product lines suddenly being in high demand, supported by insufficient supply chains designed around lean inventory models.

The vulnerability of supply chains, a problem that existed well before the pandemic, stemmed from several factors:

The pandemic exposed the vulnerability of the supply chain function and the vital need to keep it robust and reliable. A lack of availability of products could lead to an inability to treat...