Supply Chain

One of the biggest learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic has been the need for transparency of data.

3M has filed a lawsuit against Tarpon Springs, Fla.-based MM Medical Supply, claiming trademark infringement and fraud for allegedly selling fake N95 masks to a health system in Massachusetts, The Hill reported April 9. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only boosted the amount of supplies in the Strategic National Stockpile, but has changed the way it functions, KMGH, an ABC affiliate in Denver, reported April 8. 

Public health experts are raising concerns over medical waste generated by COVID-19 prevention and treatment, warning the waste could have long-term public health consequences, the Burlington (Vt.) Free Press reported April 8. 

Some health systems aren't vaccinating inpatients, even if they're sick with something other than COVID-19, while their supplies are strained, Minali Nigam, MD, an internal medicine resident at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, wrote for CNN. 

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

The FDA has authorized the first at-home COVID-19 antibody test, which allows people to collect finger-stick blood samples and send them to a lab for testing.

Compared to pharmaceutical companies, medical device and supply companies pay seven times more of their total industry revenue to physicians, according to a study published April 5 in Health Affairs. 

A supply chain manager at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, Mass., told CBS Boston that after ordering 30,000 3M N95 masks from a third-party vendor, he was able to spot from a shipping box label that the masks were counterfeit. 

The U.S. has launched its fourth annual National Supply Chain Integrity Month and has issued a call to action for organizations across the country to strengthen their supply chains.