Supply Chain

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. 

Most health systems are aware that achieving supply chain excellence results in positive implications for their facility.

The FDA is requesting more regulatory power over the medical device supply chain to mitigate and prevent supply shortages, acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock, MD, wrote in a July 21 blog post. 

Quest Diagnostics CEO Steve Rusckowski told CNBC July 22 that the company is seeing an increase in COVID-19 tests as the delta virus spreads. 

Air-filtered personal protection booths called hexapods developed and used by Mass General Brigham in Boston during COVID-19 testing led to cost savings, decreased use of personal protective equipment and increased testing capacity, a study published in JAMA Network Open found.