Vizient, Inc. announced in a press release its Novaplus Enhanced Supply Program has brought 100 million additional units of inventory of essential medications to the supply chain, many used to treat life-threatening illnesses. The increase in inventory comes after the program was launched in 2020 to protect its members against shortages for these essential medications should a supply chain disruption occur.
“The impact of 100 million additional units of onshore inventory cannot be understated, especially considering the current challenges of the nation’s supply chain,” said Dan Kistner, Group Senior Vice President, Pharmacy Solutions for Vizient.
The Novaplus Enhanced Supply Program provides supply assurance for participating Vizient members through increased inventory commitment from suppliers and members for essential medications. The program proved successful in the spring of 2020 when demand for the sedative propofol, used to treat COVID patients on ventilators, spiked 272%.
Through Novaplus Enhanced Supply program, 676,000 additional units of the sedative had already entered the market at the time of the spike.
Medications identified as essential by Vizient include acute treatment drugs with no alternatives, chronic treatment drugs with no alternatives and high impact drugs whose alternatives are less clinically desirable.
The program now includes 79 essential medications and over 300 unique presentations of these drugs. These include antibiotics, blood thinners, certain chemotherapy drugs and medications required in the operating room.
