Hospital systems aim to make their communities healthier. Traditionally that means simply providing health care. But more often hospitals are going a step further, trying to create healthier communities by working with local suppliers and reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
On this episode of Medically Necessary, Matt Blois looks at how health care institutions’ efforts to reach out to communities create a cycle of healthier living for the whole environment. He welcomes Shane...
Shortages of many generic drugs have plagued the U.S. health system for decades. The leading cause of drug shortages is quality issues at manufacturing plants, which are mostly overseas. Some experts argue that bringing pharmaceutical production back to the U.S. will help companies and regulators better monitor manufacturing and avoid a variety of issues.
Matt Blois talks to Michael Alkire, CEO at Premier, about how moving drug manufacturing overseas disrupted the quality of some drugs being...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/repatriating-the-us-drug-supply-medically-necessary
The COVID-19 pandemic caused demand for PPE to spike and demand for products used in elective procedures and primary care visits to plummet. Effective vaccines raised hopes for a return to normal, but the delta variant has complicated that calculus. The next step is predicting how demand will change in this new stage of the pandemic.
On this episode of Medically Necessary, Matt Blois talks to Andy Brailo, chief customer officer at Premier, about how the post-pandemic landscape will shape up.
You...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/building-the-post-pandemic-supply-chain-medically-necessary
E-commerce has made retail shopping as easy as clicking a button, and telehealth has already brought some of those conveniences to health care. Now, companies are trying to figure out how to use the tools of e-commerce to improve the health care supply chain.
How can health care suppliers still guarantee patients are receiving top-notch care even if it is in an expedited manner? Matt Blois tries to answer that question and looks deeper at the help e-commerce services can provide to hospitals and...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/e-commerce-influence-in-health-care-medically-necessary
China is a manufacturing superpower and in many industries U.S. companies have a hard time competing. Now, many policy makers are interested in boosting manufacturing of medical products and drugs in the U.S.
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/chinas-impact-on-the-us-health-care-supply-chain
On this episode of Medically Necessary, Matt Blois welcomes Beth Schenk, executive director of environmental stewardship for the health system Providence.
Blois and Schenk talk about the carbon footprint of the health care supply chain and how health care providers, distributors and manufacturers are trying to reduce their carbon emissions.
Providence has a network of more than 50 hospitals in the western U.S. and last year announced it would go carbon-negative by 2030, meaning it wouldn’t...
Most of the drugs sold in the U.S. come from overseas, exposing those supply chains to disruptions like natural disasters or political conflicts. Some researchers argue that using 3D printing to make drugs at the site of care could increase resiliency.
Matt Blois talks to one of those researchers on this episode of Medically Necessary, welcoming Sheng Qi from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. The two discuss using 3D printers to produce personalized drugs for patients.
When it...
A network of small businesses, universities and enthusiasts used 3D printers to make millions of pieces of personal protective equipment last year. That helped mitigate supply shortages in some cases, but it’s not clear how useful the technology will be for the next pandemic.
On this episode of Medically Necessary, Matt Blois looks at how those printers fit into the supply chains of the future. He welcomes Georgette Nelson, program manager at America Makes, an organization that promotes the...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/using-3d-printing-to-make-ppe-medically-necessary
The demand for medical gloves soared during the COVID-19 pandemic and those issues persist. Now, a nationwide lockdown in Malaysia, which produces most of the world’s gloves, is slowing production, and this lockdown could last for weeks.
Matt Blois talks to Mirko Woitzik and Neza Kricaj, analysts with Eversteam Analytics, about the research their team is doing on supply chain and the impacts of Malaysian shutdowns on the rest of the world.
Adding to shortages caused by disease, a Customs and...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/malaysias-medical-glove-problem-medically-necessary
In 2020, a wave of businesses started manufacturing personal protective equipment to make up for severe shortages. As demand for PPE has declined, many of those small businesses are now close to shutting down.
Matt Blois talks to Brent Dillie, founder and chairman of the American Mask Makers Association, a trade group representing these companies. Dillie also is the commercial director for Premium-PPE.
AMMA wants the federal government to immediately place orders with the small mask...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/supporting-small-us-mask-manufacturers-ー-medically-necessary