As the availability of critical supplies remains uncertain, a growing number of hospitals are planning for potential supply chain disruptions for a wide range of products (not to mention: increased costs from tariff-ying market conditions). Planning ahead is not only wise, but it will leave you better equipped to prevent interruption to patient care. But what about budgets, storage, and whether upping order volumes require a long-term contractual commitment?
Act now to build a stockpile of the most critical supplies. It wasn’t that long ago that pandemic-era supply disruptions were a daily reality. So whether it means buying more now, taking steps to conserve, or finding other creative ways to stock up, don’t wait and be surprised to find that prices have increased—or that what you need isn’t available. You may need to prod the CFO to flex your budget a bit or push the warehouse to make some extra room, but don’t be deterred. Running out is a harder problem to solve.
A recent example from a regional health system showed how spending more than planned can make sense. In the face of current market conditions, the biomed manager accelerated purchases of replacement lithium-ion batteries for their IV pumps. That move required CFO buy-in that “hoarding” batteries was a good strategy, despite adding 7% to short-term costs. But when a recent quote for new batteries showed up with a 32% price hike (and a four-month delivery estimate) simply “because of tariffs”, the manager got credit for thinking ahead and making sure the hospital had enough IV pumps available for patients. After all: it isn’t hoarding when you’re planning ahead. Isn’t it better to be safe than sorry?