How Providence is responding to medication shortages and tips to manage drug supply
Providence created an incident command structure to anticipate emergent shortages of medications, supplies, services and operational challenges. In addition to advocating for supply chain transparency, efforts are also focused on building a stable medication supply chain. Providence has put together a list of 150 essential medications that includes antibiotics, opiates and neuromuscular blocking agents to facilitate mechanical ventilation for COVID-19 patients.
Pharmacy leaders from each of Providence's regions and drug manufacturers have banded together to ensure availability of these medications and monitor the list daily and were asked pharmacies to use up their allocations so medications can easily be transferred from hospital to hospital.