Supply Management in Pandemic: Mayo’s Experience

Uninterrupted provision of patient care since the beginning of the pandemic has been a challenge due to constantly changing circumstances. As a result, health institutions must now continuously reassess their short- and long-term strategies to address critical supply needs. Timeliness is the most important factor, so it is necessary to monitor events around the globe to address potential third-party risks and improve a supply chain’s agility and resilience. This approach is reflected in business continuity plans inherent to advanced healthcare providers.

By the end of January it became clear that the situation in China could lead to disruptions in the Mayo’s supply chains. To address this risk, the health system enabled its hospital incident command system (HICS) with an emergency operations centre and a sourcing command centre. There were daily personal protective equipment (PPE) inventories and, since the supply system was already overwhelmed, non-traditional sources of PPE, such as participation in group purchasing organisations (GPOs) or switching to local manufacturers, were adopted. A business continuity planning routine and the availability of the demand-based inventory management technology, among others, helped Mayo to adapt quickly to the fast-changing environment.