As states begin to lift restrictions on certain surgeries and procedures for hospitals and health systems, electives have restarted after being suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic.

John Raab and Patrick McMahon of Owens & Minor, and Mark Campbell of Tampa General Hospital discuss the supply chain and demand challenges for hospitals during the restart, the staffing issues, the financial pressures, the data points and the PPE tracking with John Pritchard of The Journal of Healthcare Contracting (JHC) in the latest Healthcare Supplychain Radio podcast, “Best Practices for Hospitals and Supply Chain Resuming Surgeries.”

Historical data points are critical as hospitals restart elective surgeries. Knowing what procedures are scheduled one to four weeks ahead of time, what’s actually been done in the past, how to block time and utilize it, and tracking daily usage of surgical product and PPE, which has thrown a new wrinkle into the mix. Tracking PPE daily is new to the OR.

It’s important for hospitals to have confidence in their supply source, their distributor and their manufacturers. The supply chain is still intact, but the demand for product is more robust. Confidence in their supply will save hospitals from over ordering during this restart.

Host: John Pritchard, Publisher, The Journal of Healthcare Contracting (JHC)

 Participants:

• John Raab, National Director of Clinical Business Development, Owens & Minor
• Patrick McMahon, Vice President of Services, Owens & Minor
• Mark Campbell, Vice President of Supply Chain, Tampa General Hospital

 Note: Please look for the second of this two-part series next week on hospitals managing their supply chain post-COVID.

 Hospitals and health systems quickly stockpiled for the pandemic without much management of those supplies. Now, hospitals are cleaning up their stockpiles and face challenges of carrying large amounts of inventory with unpredictable demand. How can hospitals make sure they have the best practices in place to properly manage their stockpiles?