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Materials managers think now is the time to start heeding your mothers advice: Dont be selfish. Share with others.

As the world prepares for the Year 2000, those most intimately involved with selling, buying and storing supplies are urging hospital officials to be prudent and not hoard or stockpile.

Health care providers, medical equipment manufacturers, suppliers and purchasers were scheduled to meet June 7 at the White House for another summit on the supply chain. A similar meeting was held last month on pharmaceuticals.

The goal is to hear from all stakeholders and ensure that steps are being taken to keep the supply chain moving on and after Jan. 1.

Additionally, the AHA this week is expected to send out a member advisory discouraging members from hoarding, cautioning that such a practice would create the very shortages hospitals are trying to avoid.

"The big losers, if people hoard, will be patients," said Todd Ebert, executive vice president of AmeriNet Inc., a group purchaser. "If everyone acts prudently, care wont be interrupted."

Knowing that actions speak louder than words, many suppliers are starting to pay close attention to hospitals orders.

Several sources said that large suppliers have put them on notice: Orders exceeding recent patterns wont be filled.

"We thought about stockpiling, but realized the negative impact it would have on the system," said Vicki Running-Washburn, administrator of clinical engineering at UCSF Stanford Health Care.

However, she said the four-hospital system plans to order for a "full house," predicting that utilization will rise on Jan. 1.

"We are expecting a lot of emergency room activity given the number of celebrations surrounding the new millennium," Running-Washburn said.

Still, suppliers plan to look at orders for past holiday seasons and during disasters to get a sense of a hospitals normal practices.

Additionally, UCSF is in close contact with other area hospitals to develop backup plans should any facility find itself in need of supplies, she said.

Ebert said it is important for hospitals, suppliers and the government to discuss Y2K readiness with their communities and explain what is being done to ensure the supply chain does not break down.

-- Steve (hartsman@ticon.net), June 10, 1999

Answers

Wow! This is disturbing! Suppliers already refusing to fill larger than normal orders in June? How soon will this anti-hoarding message spill over to other industries? How soon will individuals who have stockpiled supplies be vilified?

You know where this thinking leads...

-- Dog Gone (layinglow@rollover.now), June 10, 1999.

One more argument in favor of spending New Year's Eve at home. And stocking up on medial supplies...

-- sorry (no@more.bandaids), June 10, 1999.

Hmmm. Our county Mental Health/Mental Rehabilitation Administrators received a notice in late April from our state's Department of Public Welfare entitled "Y2K Readiness Re: Guaranteed Access to Prescription Medications." It just filtered down to our 1300-patient mental health clinic this week. It said, "To address concerns posed by the Y2K problem, the Office Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services recommends the following precautionary steps to assure uninterrupted access to vital medications:

*Contact all non-hospital MH/MR providers who administer prescription medications to medical assistance recipients within your area of responsibility;

*Recommend that providers prescribe a minimum one month supply of all appropriate prescription medications in December,1999 for availability throughout the month of January, 2000; and

*Contact suppliers of prescription medications to seek assurance that they are Y2K compliant and that their inventories are adequate to meet any emergency."

The word gone out to the docs about the December prescriptions. I'm sure the drug salespeople who pop in will assure us all is well with their companies. And that's how we, and no doubt hundreds of other facilities, will "assure uninterrupted access to vital medications."

Got St. John's Wort?

* contact all non-hospital

-- Faith Weaver (suzsolutions@yahoo.com), June 10, 1999.

Suppliers can fill orders 6 months in advance. My pharmaceutical company can take orders 6 months in advance(and deliver) and I bet that Johnson & Johnson(bandages) can do that as well. 6 Months is a good lead time for the little stuff in the medical industry. Sure if you want x-ray machines, they take a little longer but the little stuff that they use every day, give me a break.

Ned

-- Ned P Zimmer (ned@nednet.com), June 10, 1999.

My sister-in-law was approached a few monts ago about some warehouse space she had available. It seems a very large hospital in PA was looking for a place to stockpile. The broker told here they planned on have 3 months worth.

She told me the warehouse was piled to the rafters.

-- GeeGee (GeeGee@madtown.com), June 10, 1999.

Have been incrementally increasing inventory of life vital meds since January. No problems in the pharmbiz. Dislike the term "hoarding" when the stocking up is for someone else's benefit as is certainly true for hospitals. Self use? Not.

-- LocalGuy (MyPatientsFirst@notachain.com), June 10, 1999.

In today's issue of AHA News:

http://www.ahanews.com/news/ahancurrentlist.html#Story2

Senators "receptive" to helping providers with Y2K

Rural and inner-city health care providers may get some federal dollars to help address the Y2K computer problem, Sens. Robert Bennett (R-UT) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT) suggested today at a hearing. They said Congress would be "very responsive" to providing money if small providers could show that Y2K is a financial drain. Dodd and Bennett are drafting a bill that would give states up to $50 million to dole out to needy providers. It could be introduced within the next two to four weeks, Bennett told AHA News. HHS officials said they are stepping up efforts to verify manufacturers' claims that biomedical devices are Y2K-ready. FDA will take action against firms that are not addressing the problem, officials said.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), June 10, 1999.