Hospitals have been rocked by supply chain challenges in recent years, from cost increases for personal protective equipment (PPE) during the Covid-19 pandemic to IV fluid shortages following hurricanes in North Carolina.
Now, with 145% tariffs on China—and possibly more coming—hospitals are gearing up for additional disruptions.
Products can be costly, as market intelligence company Definitive Healthcare reported earlier this year. In 2023, hospitals spent $57 billion on medical and surgical supplies—up 6.5% from 2017’s $30.2 billion, according to the report.
Hospitals and health systems must have enough of the right medicines, medical devices, and supplies at the right time to provide “safe and effective care,” Akin Demehin, VP of quality and safety policy at the American Hospital Association (AHA), told Healthcare Brew.
“It’s why they care so much about what the supply chain looks like, and put so much effort into trying to understand and manage the supply chain,” he added.
To avoid further disruptions and cost increases, experts told us providers should learn from the last few years and look at how they use items, not just how many items they use.
Shortage list. In terms of possible shortages, Demehin said hospitals are keeping a close eye on everything from medications to devices (including scope covers, blood pressure cuffs, and pulse oximeters) to PPE like disposable masks and plastic gloves.
“[These items] really do make up the day-to-day patient care activity that we know that patients and communities are depending on,” he said.
AHA previously made a public statement asking the Trump administration for tariff exemptions on medical devices and pharmaceuticals to “try to minimize those disruptions to supplies and minimize the disruptions to patient care,” Demehin said.
The White House did not respond to Healthcare Brew’s request for comment.
‘Moving target.’ But preparation to prevent shortages is a “moving target,” Demehin said, as hospitals continuously work to figure out what may fall into a shortage and what they have stockpiled.
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He said hospitals rely on both domestic and international materials, so providers are “undertaking a careful evaluation and collaboration” with group purchasing organizations and distributors to determine which products may be impacted.
For example, about 70% of medical devices sold in the US are made abroad, according to 2024 reporting by consulting company GlobalData. AHA also reported in April that, in 2024, the US imported $75 billion in medical devices and supplies.
Still, if any of these items face shortages due to tariffs, providers already have experience in producing their own medications on-site and finding alternative suppliers when needed, Demehin said.
In 2023, for example, Tufts Medical Center in Boston compounded a drug, cardioplegia, that it needed for heart surgeries when the drug was in shortage.
Use well, not more. Beyond that, Dee Donatelli, senior director of spend management at healthcare operations company Symplr, said it’s important for providers to “look at the total care management within a hospital, not just the price of a product.”
In other words, if there’s a severe shortage of masks, clinicians may be able to wear them for longer periods rather than throwing them away after one use. A 2020 study by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center suggested during the pandemic that safely reusing certain PPE could help mitigate shortage challenges.
Providers could also be more thoughtful about ensuring the care they provide is absolutely necessary, Donatelli added. For example, clinicians could evaluate if every blood test they would normally administer is required for each patient, potentially saving money and cutting down on products used.
“Utilization management, waste management, all of that—that’s where we can tighten our belts to help reduce the overall cost of care,” she said. “It is much less about the price of a product and much more about how we use the products that are driving up our costs and reducing our margins.”