Days after medical device company Abbott issued a voluntary safety warning for its glucose monitoring devices, the FDA published a recall note April 6 stating that more than 4 million of the company's FreeStyle Libre readers may be prone to an issue with the lithium-ion battery that can cause extreme cases of overheating.

The FDA found sterilizations issues at a Global Pharma facility, which manufactured eye drops contaminated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, CNN reported April 3.

Emerge Manufacturing, a Cincinnati-based hospital manufacturing company, will break ground on its 50,000-square-foot, personal protective equipment manufacturing plant April 4. 

The Federal Trade Commission on April 3 ordered Illumina to divest cancer test maker Grail, saying the $7.1 billion deal would substantially stifle competition for cancer diagnostics in the U.S. 

The FDA is evaluating safety concerns with unapproved dental devices after receiving "reports of serious complications," the agency said March 30. 

On March 30, Medline opened its 650,000-square-foot distribution center in Hammond, La., after investing $72 million into the facility, according to a news release shared with Becker's. 

For Carlos Maceda, chief supply chain officer for Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, mentoring the next generation of supply chain leaders is a top priority.

Medical supply company Medline made a distribution agreement with a national purchasing organization to provide its products to up to 26,000 state agencies, counties, cities and school districts, Medline said March 28. 

With the COVID-19 public health emergency set to expire May 11, the FDA is preparing to prevent any supply disruptions to medical devices after three years of shortages partly spurred by the pandemic. 

Here are six FDA recalls, approvals and warnings Becker's has covered since Feb. 24:

The FDA greenlit SafeSource Direct's new nitrile exam gloves that are designed to weigh less "to offer a cost-effective solution" for "low-risk, high-volume environments," the company said March 21.

More than 2,000 heart balloon pumps are part of a Class I recall issued by the FDA.

The FDA revised its list of medical device shortages spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic on March 16 to update more than a dozen products returning to normal supply levels in 2023. 

The FDA issued a third warning letter to Olympus Medical, which manufactures endoscopes, following an inspection and 160 complaints of faulty equipment.

The Global Healthcare Exchange revealed March 14 its list of the top 50 supply chains among hospitals and health systems. 

About half of the nation's hospitals are eyeing more control of the medical supply chain, according to a survey sample involving 250 hospital and health system leaders. 

The FDA narrowed its umbrella emergency use authorization for disposable, single-use surgical masks used in healthcare on March 6 after more than two years of the EUA prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

During the pandemic, product disruptions were the norm for healthcare supply chain teams. Many organizations didn't have the analytics or technologies necessary to analyze problems and develop solutions. Today, supply chain leaders at hospitals and health systems face additional challenges due to talent shortages and rampant inflation.

Boston-based Mass General Brigham tapped Medline on Feb. 27 as its strategic medical supply vendor. 

GE Healthcare said Feb. 23 it expects its contrast media products, which are used in CT scans and fell into shortage in May 2022, will return to normal supply levels in the next few weeks.