Medical Supply Chain Applauds Launch Of Federal Preparedness Dashboard
Alexandria, VA, Jan. 9, 2023 – Representatives from across the medical supply chain today praised the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) for the launch of the Disaster Available Supplies in Hospitals (DASH) Tool.
DASH is an interactive tool that can help hospital emergency planners and supply chain staff estimate supplies that may need to be immediately available during various mass casualty incidents and infectious disease emergencies based on hospital characteristics. The new tool is created and maintained by ASPR’s Technical Resources, Assistance Center and Information Exchange (TRACIE).
“HIDA was proud to collaborate with ASPR TRACIE on the development of this tool,” said HIDA President and CEO Matthew J. Rowan. “DASH is an innovative tool to assist distributors and providers in the wake of disasters. HIDA has long championed collaborative efforts between the public and private sectors to enhance resiliency and visibility into the distribution of medical supplies.”
SMI®, a non-profit, member-driven community of healthcare supply chain organizations, supports the usage of the DASH Tool to define product requirements while mitigating risk to patients. Nancy Anderson, Associate Executive Director of SMI, said, “Being able to quickly identify critical products and acceptable substitutes during a crisis saves valuable time and resources. We applaud HHS and ASPR TRACIE for developing this tool to forecast product demand of PPE to help supply chain leaders make informed and impactful decisions.” A link to the DASH Tool is available on SMI’s website.
The DASH Tool, designed by ASPR TRACIE, with support from Healthcare Ready, is an interactive tool that can help hospital emergency planners and supply chain staff estimate supplies that may need to be immediately available during various mass casualty incidents (MCI) and infectious disease emergencies based on hospital characteristics.
The DASH Tool is comprised of four modules – pharmacy, burn, trauma, and personal protective equipment. Users enter information about their hospital and receive recommendations on amounts of specific supplies needed to provide acute care immediately following a disaster.
DASH recommends average par levels for specific supplies that acute care hospitals may need to have on hand to respond to a disaster in their community until resupplied. Recommendations are based on user inputs about the size of the hospital, risks in the community, regional role/designation of the hospital, and other factors. For more information consult this fact sheet on the DASH Tool available from HHS.gov.
About HIDA
Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA) represents the healthcare distribution network – the essential link between global healthcare supply manufacturers and local care providers. HIDA members operate more than 500+ distribution centers to bring critical products, supplies, and services to more than 560,000 healthcare settings across the U.S., including hospitals, long-term care, physician practices, home care, and laboratories. Visit
HIDA.org.