Pandemic Preparedness Summit Highlights Public-Private Partnerships

Supply Chain Executives And Federal Preparedness Officials Convene First-Ever Event

Alexandria, VA, July 13, 2022 – The Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA) held its first-ever Pandemic Preparedness Summit on Friday, June 17, to share best practices from the COVID-19 response and strengthen public-private partnerships throughout the health supply chain.

The Pandemic Preparedness Summit convened healthcare distributors and manufacturers from the private sector with federal partners from government agencies charged with managing pandemic preparedness and the healthcare supply chain. Federal partners included representatives from the HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Supply Chain Control Tower, Strategic National Stockpile, the Food and Drug Administration Resilient Supply Chain Program, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Panels and breakout sessions at the Pandemic Preparedness Summit paired federal partners with industry leaders to discuss mutual challenges and develop recommendations to improve preparedness strategies. Key topics of discussion included:

• Supply Chain Collaboration: Stakeholders discussed collaborations and partnerships that would support, not supplant, the commercial supply chain. The private sector is scaled to make, source, and distribute medical products to healthcare providers across the care continuum. Federal partners have provided the planning, funding, and prioritization to create a comprehensive response.
• Communication Protocols: Participants built on the foundation of trust and communication developed during the COVID-19 response. Recommendations were developed to better structure protocols to ensure the lines of communication between government and industry remain operational in the future.
• Technology & Data: Public-private partnerships can be enhanced by sharing the right information at the right time. Participants identified barriers to data-sharing that would inhibit future preparedness response.

About HIDA

HIDA is the industry trade association representing 118 distribution companies operating 500+ healthcare distribution centers across the care continuum nationwide. HIDA members deliver healthcare products and supplies, manage logistics, and offer customer services to virtually every healthcare provider. In 2020, they reliably delivered 51 billion units of PPE “the last mile” to providers. Visit HIDA.org.