Supply Chain

Here are six recent warnings the FDA has issued since Jan. 1:

 The CDC is anticipating a shortage of Td vaccines — which protect against tetanus and diphtheria — as the maker of one shot has discontinued production. 

Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center appointed William Obremskey, MD, as its executive medical director of supply chain services. 

U.S. supply chain leaders often underestimate the risk of labor-related issues, both domestically and with foreign suppliers, according to Kevin Kolben, a supply chain labor expert and professor of business law at Newark, N.J.-based Rutgers Business School.

Twenty-five lots of eye ointments are being pulled from CVS, Walmart and two other distributors because of a sterility risk, the FDA said Feb. 26. 

The FDA is recalling additional saline and sterile water products made by Nurse Assist after receiving reports of adverse events.

With the healthcare industry accounting for 8% of the nation's carbon footprint, some medical device companies are absorbed in waste-reducing initiatives — but hurdles await, The New York Times reported Feb. 26. 

Walmart has achieved a significant environmental sustainability milestone six years early, The Wall Street Journal reported Feb. 23.

Third-party test labs are increasingly generating false results for medical device studies, and manufacturers are responsible for validating the data, the FDA said Feb. 20. 

Mayo Clinic, BJC HealthCare, and six other hospitals and health systems are advocating for a central platform where medical devicemakers report supply disruptions, including recalls.