HIDA GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
Red Flags to Avoid PPE Scams Distributors, manufacturers, and healthcare providers all have a role in fighting PPE fraud > Expediting shipping and delivery to
A year into the pandemic, the problem of counterfeit personal protective
hot spots
(seminars, social media campaigns)
> Coordinating with current suppliers
equipment persists, engineered by op-
to ramp up production
portunistic vendors and profiteers taking
> Educating and raising awareness > Engaging with regulators and standards organizations
> Vetting and onboarding new suppliers > Using allocation systems to conserve
advantage of the lengthy spike in demand. HIDA recently hosted a webinar, “Work-
inventory and maximize product
ing with Your Supply Chain Partners
> Maintaining stockpiles
to Avoid PPE Scams” to identify how
How providers help Healthcare providers can keep an open
distributors, manufacturers, and providers
line of communication with their trust-
can all work together to combat fraud.
ed distributor partners to help identify
How manufacturers help
and solve pressing challenges created by
Medline Industries, and Sri Trang USA
They manage supply and provide alter-
COVID-19. The panelists recommend-
emphasized the importance of working
natives through short- and long-term
ed ways providers can be a positive part
with authorized, established distributors
strategic planning.
of a resilient supply chain.
The presenters from 3M Healthcare,
> Being flexible > Being open to evaluating product
and original equipment manufacturers to ensure FDA-approved, quality medical
Short-term
> Reaching out to distributors to
products flow through the supply chain
understand current challenges
for optimum patient care. If the offer
> Reducing supply chain complexity
seems too good to be true, it is too good
(such as modifying a product so that
to be true. Here are key takeaways.
> Reducing niche products (do you really need that grape-flavored glove?)
> Suggest alternatives (innovative or
Distributors have been deluged with offers from unfamiliar brokers and vendors.
generation of latex gloves as a substitute for nitrile)
> Focusing on critical product requirements
it ships easier)
How distributors help
alternatives (For example, a new
nascent products)
> Recognizing the downsides of large stockpiles (puts products needed on the front lines onto back shelves)
In response, they have been using every tool available to meet the increased need.
The full webinar recording is available
Long-term
> Identifying appropriate product substitutions when available
> Expanding or modernizing facilities > Diversifying raw material sources
in the Events + Education section of HIDA’s website, HIDA.org.
Unfamiliar sources may not offer vetted product Unfamiliar Suppliers
Distributors
Price
One-time deals for the highest price
Prices based on long-term relationships and contracts with manufacturers and healthcare providers
Safety
No guarantee that manufacturers were vetted or that brokers have experience in healthcare supply
Sourced from vetted and FDA-approved manufacturers
Quality
Only negotiate, with no guarantees of product delivery or condition
Take possession and ownership of products and deliver to healthcare provider
The Journal of Healthcare Contracting | April 2021
55
