Preparing for Emergencies
Our public policy recommendations to ensure patients get the medicines and supplies they need during states of emergency.
Working With Governments to Deliver During Emergencies
We encourage Congress to incorporate these recommendations into current or future legislation on pandemic preparedness.
- Recognizing the Role of Distributors: Fully leverage the expertise of the commercial distribution channel when contemplating the next-generation Strategic National Stockpile (SNS)
- Valuing Public-Private Partnerships: Incorporate a vendor-managed inventory network into the SNS to support supply chain readiness and sufficient inventory reserve
- Enhancing the Centralized Data Tower: More robust and bi-directional data sharing to provide visibility of stockpile inventory and sourcing of product by governments, commercial partners and others
- Centralizing Public Health Management Infrastructure: Support a centralized management approach, where the infrastructure remains in place to facilitate seamless and highly coordinated mobilization by the government and its commercial partners
- Revitalizing the Frontline Healthcare Workforce: Provide adequate reimbursement to healthcare professionals like pharmacists for certain primary care services and ensure sustained inclusion in future emergency response. Foster a robust public health data-infrastructure that allows for integration of data across settings and providers
We work with state legislatures and state emergency response agencies to ensure pharmaceuticals can be delivered during a state of emergency. We encourage state legislators and policymakers to adopt procedures that would:
- Classify pharmaceutical and medical supply delivery trucks as essential vehicles with authority to make deliveries;
- Direct appropriate local or state agencies to include pharmaceutical and medical supply distributors in any emergency preparedness plans and establish a process to assist with road access during states of emergency.
Drug Shortages: Root Causes and Recommended Solutions
Drug shortages can prevent or delay access to necessary treatments, disrupting medical care and compromising patient health. By better understanding and addressing the often highly variable root causes, bolstering supply preservation efforts, and improving communication between stakeholders, we can make meaningful progress in protecting the health of patients.