Hospital leaders have options to help their supply chains during the coronavirus pandemic

• Alternative sources of needed supplies may be available to hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Vetting those sources for quality and safety is crucial.
• Relaxed guidelines may allow hospitals to acquire different brands of supplies than they are accustomed to obtaining, as in the case of NIOSH-approved N95 respirator masks.
• Collaboration across institutions will be essential to address supply chain issues during the crisis.

Since the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, healthcare industry experts have projected that shortages of supplies such as personal protective equipment and ventilators could endanger clinicians and affect patient outcomes.

Those fears are becoming realized as parts of the country deal with accelerating increases of COVID-19 cases. Although many long-term...