Supply Chain

Cardinal Health has completed the sale of its Cordis medical device business to private equity firm Hellman & Friedman for about $1 billion, the healthcare services company said Aug 2. 

Before the pandemic, hospitals and health systems faced numerous operational, clinical and financial challenges.

Twenty-three percent of patient deaths attributed to medical devices were classified as something other than patient deaths in the FDA's adverse events database, a study published July 26 in JAMA Internal Medicine found. 

Sales of masks have risen 24 percent after months of decline as the delta variant continues to spread across the U.S., The Hill reported. 

Ten health systems have posted job listings for supply chain expertise in the last week:

A 56-year-old Houston man has pleaded guilty to a scheme to fraudulently sell 50 million N95 masks to the Australian government, the U.S. Justice Department said July 27. 

Though the delta variant is causing a rise in COVID-19 cases, demand for masks remains low, and some domestic mask makers are struggling to stay in business, Bloomberg reported July 27. 

The White House released a proposed rule July 28 that is intended to increase the amount of American-made supplies the federal government purchases and bolster domestic supply chains. 

Baxter International is reportedly in talks to buy medical devicemaker Hillrom Holdings, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. 

A small 3D printer helped Sarasota (Fla.) Memorial Hospital overcome supply shortages during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when it couldn't get a critical piece of personal protective equipment needed to protect its healthcare workers, ABC Action News reported.