The Security of America's Medical Product Supply Chain

Abstract

Recent disasters and health emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic, have shed light on the fragility of the U.S. medical supply chain and underscored the need to explore policy, regulatory, and systems solutions to prevent and mitigate the impacts of shortages on public health, national security, and patient care. Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine established an ad hoc committee to examine the security and resilience of the U.S. medical product supply chain. Specifically, the committee was asked to assess and evaluate the impact of U.S. dependence on critical drugs and devices sourced or manufactured outside the U.S. and provide recommendations to improve the resilience and address the vulnerabilities of the medical supply chain. On December 1 and 2, 2020, the Committee on Security of America's Medical Product Supply Chain held a two-day virtual public workshop focused on assessing lists of critical and essential medical products. The workshop sought to conceptually explore how critical and essential medical product lists are developed and used in practice. The committee's consensus study report will be available in 2022. This Proceedings of a Workshop-in Brief summarizes the discussions that occurred at the workshop. © by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.