Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Medical Supply Chain

When the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in early 2020, it instantly impacted many facets of the health care industry.

While it was clear that health care workers and facilities would be heavily affected, the pandemic also greatly impacted the medical supply chain. In many ways, it shined a light on existing holes and provided an opportunity for logistics managers to build a stronger system for the future.

In hindsight, it is no surprise the supply chain was hit particularly hard. Prior to the pandemic, manufacturers’ operations were focused on just-in-time inventory models, finding ways to reduce costs and remove bottlenecks. Across the board, businesses’ processes were not equipped to navigate any significant disruptions or major shortages. When the pandemic caused large-scale turmoil, this lack of preparedness had a snowball effect, with manufacturers finding it difficult to even source boxes and trucks to ship out products.

The First Few Waves of Disruption

The extent of the challenges that the medical supply chain would face was not immediately apparent. Instead, new complexities were revealed over time, which made reacting quickly and identifying long-term solutions difficult for logistics managers.

Early on, we saw the first wave of disruption when people started panic buying medications and other supplies. And since many medications are extremely complex and production requires a long lead time to ramp up, manufacturers were unable to keep pace with this sudden increase in demand. As we know, this resulted in a widespread shortage of a variety of medical products, including staples like masks and glass vials.

The next wave of disruption further exacerbated bottlenecks, as manufacturers faced a lack of access to facilities due to necessary social distancing policies. The time it took to ship out medical products slowed significantly because operations required the development and implementation of continuity plans. Plus, these plans had to account for the possibility of employees falling ill, which would require redistributing workloads and restructuring teams. The inability to access facilities also impacted third-party vendors, as hospitals and providers quickly put policies in place to limit outside visitors.

Patients were also directly impacted, especially considering the large shift in points of care. Patients who had previously gone into a physician’s office or hospital to be infused with therapy, now couldn’t or didn’t feel safe leaving their homes. In response to many physicians’ offices being closed, an expectation of in-home treatment arose for many patients, while another subset expressed their discomfort with having people in their homes. During this extremely difficult period, many patients in need of lifesaving therapies were forced to make tough decisions or postpone critical care.

Subsequently, the vaccine rollout caused entirely new issues. Given the vaccine’s extremely cold storage requirements, many organizations lacked resources or capabilities to support transportation and distribution. This gap quickly revealed a new need for hospitals and other health care providers to have regular access to unusually cold storage.

Moving Forward

Today, more than two years since the start of the pandemic, we have seen improvements at every stage of the medical supply chain. For instance, there is a greater focus placed on disaster recovery, including the crucial implementation of disaster plans. More and more, companies are willing to invest in exploring different business approaches, from utilizing multiple suppliers to adopting models that allow for remote work.

Another notable area of improvement has been in the type of communication between patients and physicians. We have undoubtedly seen a greater awareness in the public surrounding logistics. Knowing that the pandemic has, in some cases, made it more difficult to receive certain medications has led patients to be more communicative about their needs with providers. This open dialogue allows providers to better connect with vendors and suppliers about current and anticipated needs, providing a greater cushion for production and distribution timing. This line of communication benefits all parties along the supply chain and is a big step in the right direction.

As an industry, we have had to overcome great adversity and in the face of the next global disruption, we will be ready to leverage what we have learned about the fragility of logistics to react more quickly and efficiently.