Supply Chain

There is a national shortage of tracheostomy tubes, including ICU Medical's Bivona tubes, and the dearth is more likely to affect pediatric patients because there are few alternative products, the FDA said Oct. 31. 

Here are 10 health systems and hospitals that posted job listings seeking supply chain expertise in the last week. 

Whether it's "end-of-the-year chaos" with manufacturers halting production for a few weeks or geopolitical concerns, supply chain disruptions are bound to happen — but that doesn't mean hoarding is the solution, Harvard Business Review reported Oct. 27.

From fall 2020 to the present, the costs for some of the most critical elements (e.g., resins, cotton and metals) in the medical supplies and devices that hospitals and health systems use daily all soared in excess of 30 percent,…

Here are seven drug and medical device recalls the FDA reported in October: 

Supply chain issues have become part of the new normal in healthcare—in 2021, 99% of hospitals and health systems reported challenges in supply procurement.

As hospital supply chains endure inflationary pressures, the surge of multiple viruses and typical "end-of-the-year chaos," medical supply experts told Becker's their top concerns heading into 2022's winter.

Philips, an Amsterdam-based medical device company, will cut 4,000 jobs as it weathers a recall of 18 million sleep apnea masks, The Wall Street Journal reported Oct. 24. 

The baby powder shortage lasted months after Abbott Laboratories shuttered its main manufacturing site for the product, and the company is now planning a new $500 million facility, CBS News reported Oct. 21. 

A shortage of liquid helium, a nonrenewable element that has been dwindling in supply, is worrying physicians because MRI machines require the ultra-cold material for its magnets, NBC News reported Oct. 22.