Protect Your Supply Chain from Shortages
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The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak highlights potential vulnerabilities in both drug supply chain and clinical infrastructure. What are the ways you can protect your supply chain from shortages?
Improve Transparency in the Supply Chain
To improve transparency in the supply chain and to ensure contingency plans are in place to mitigate disruptions that can result in drug shortages, the following solutions from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), enable safer and more consistent drug manufacturing:
- Require manufacturers to provide the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with more information on the causes of shortages and their expected durations and allow public reporting of this information
- Require manufacturers to publicly disclose manufacturing sites, including use of contract manufacturers, and sources of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)
- Require manufacturers to conduct periodic risk assessments of their supply chains and establish contingency plans to maintain the supply of a drug in the event of a manufacturing disruption
- Require the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct a risk assessment of national security threats associated with the manufacturing and distribution of critical drugs
- Incentivize domestic, advanced manufacturing capacity
The Independent Pharmacy’s Role
Although these solutions highlight the needs of the federal government to safeguard drug supply, how can you as an independent pharmacy prepare for COVID-19 and the impact on the supply chain? You can help soothe their fears by making sure your shelves are fully stocked and shift your inventory to their current and future needs. Click here for the complete list of current and resolved drug shortages and discontinuations reported to the FDA and the full list of drug shortages. For the most current supply information, contact the manufacturers. Then think to yourself if your pharmacy is prepared to handle the high demands in today’s current environment. Maintaining your pharmacy inventory, keeping the right medications in stock, and being prepared for the future is more crucial now than ever.
About the Author
Datarithm® is dedicated to helping independent pharmacies reach their full potential by optimizing their largest investment and biggest expense. Contact our team and learn how our cloud-based inventory management software can help you streamline operations, reduce expenses, increase profits, and improve cash flow and liquidity for your pharmacy. Invest in Datarithm® today.
