TOTAL RECALL. Unless some catastrophic, headline-grabbing event occurs in the next few weeks, you’d be hard-pressed not to label 2007 as the "Year of the Recall." From automobile components to tainted meats and other foodstuff to hygiene products to medical devices to toys, history will record that companies and government agencies saw their recall procedures and processes amply tested, their public relations engines tuned up (ranging from mea culpas to hollow assurances of product quality and dedication to customers) and financial investors, as well as the general public, thoroughly rattled and unhinged. In the understatement of the year, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt was quoted by the Associated Press last month as saying, "Buy from people you trust." Hopefully, that’s not the extent of his strategic expertise in solving these lingering problems. But trust is precisely what’s lacking now that the system failed. Or maybe it worked because it forced all of these recalls. The bottom line for healthcare supply chain managers is the big picture. The spate of recalls signifies some serious problems in the overall industries-spanning supply chain - whether they involve lapses in judgment, production or security measures. Regardless of industry (and the recalls seem to have infected each one of the majors), these recalls cast a serious pall on a profession fighting hard for credibility and respect. Supply chain managers outside of healthcare may be regarded more highly in executive suites, corporate board rooms and Wall Street but these unfortunate occurrences certainly knock them off their pedestals and down a few pegs. That’s not a good thing because whether we like it or not, the supply chain permeates our culture, offering pervasive access into our personal and private lives.

INFECTIOUS WASTE. Running second to product and safety recalls as a defining issue of 2007 are microscopic and increasingly antibiotic-resistant bacterial organisms called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA. Julie Gerberding, M.D., director of the Centers for Disease Control and Epidemiology, last month testified on Capitol Hill that MRSA is "the cockroach of bacteria," which doesn’t require weapons of mass destruction (not that WMDs could kill cockroaches anyway) for prevention but common-sense personal hygiene, she noted. "Soap and water is the cheapest intervention we have, and it’s one of the most effective," the AP reported her telling the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Certainly, MRSA isn’t a new problem, nor is hand-washing a new solution. In fact, 10 years ago, prior to her CDC appointment, Dr. Gerberding and a host of other infection control experts and luminaries made antibiotic resistance the centerpiece of the annual APIC conference – and hand-washing has been and remains an underlying theme in the infection control world. Unfortunately, too few are heeding the warnings or apparently listening to them. Maybe it would resonate more if Disney worked it into the plot of "Chicken Little 2."

FREIGHT TRAIN. One of this month’s stories explores the rise of third-party logistics firms in healthcare with one of the sources focusing on a key cost driver that could be reduced – freight. Rick Bayer’s firm, Healthcare Logistics Services LLC, stresses "provider-driven" freight management where hospitals control inbound freight costs with access to information so that they can more easily choose the lowest-cost alternative shipping methods. But that strategy doesn’t just work for hospitals. "We would encourage manufacturers to do the same thing we tell providers – manage inbound freight," Bayer said. "A lot of manufacturers don’t manage their own inbound in the way they do for providers. We encourage them to manage their own inbound. We’ve had some ask us to do it for them but we won’t. We’re totally third party and independent and want to stay that way so there’s no conflict of interest."

DRESS TOAD. British hospitals have issued a dress code for their physicians, banning neckties, long sleeves, jewelry and white coats because these items tend to harbor hospital-borne infections. Not to be outdone, Yankee hospitals across the pond are taking a cue from the NASCAR auto racing circuit, considering whether doctors should don sweat-wicking Spandex suits adorned with sponsoring vendor logos. Boogedy, boogedy, boys! Let’s go operatin’! (Apologies to legendary stock care driver Darrell Waltrip.)

Celebrate success, readers.