For decades, health system supply chain executives have been focused on reducing costs, but now, they're looking beyond price tags, according to Tom Harvieux, vice president and chief supply officer of St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare.

The FDA announced May 30 that OptumHealth Care Solutions is recalling 208 infusion pump systems.

On May 31, Johnson & Johnson finalized its $13.1 billion acquisition of Shockwave Medical, a cardiovascular medical device company. 

As more health systems dive into hospital-at-home models, supply chain leaders told Becker's their industry is facing a tidal wave of change — and it's time to start surfing. 

The U.S. recently increased tariff rates on some medical supplies made in China to bolster domestic production, but the plan likely won't be fruitful, industry executives told Reuters.

Medline and Jiangsu Shenli Medical Production Co. have initiated recalls of plastic syringes amid reports of them breaking and leaking, the FDA confirmed in late May.

Medline broadened its respiratory business and now offers a nebulizer that shrinks delivery time from 10 to three minutes. 

Customers of an Abbott heart pump have reported 81 incidents, 70 injuries and two deaths related to blood leakage or air entering the device, according to the FDA. 

Hologic, a Massachusetts-based medical technology company, recently warned customers about potential risks linked to an implantable device used to mark soft tissue for procedures. 

Medline is one of the fastest-growing manufacturers of medical products. Here are nine fast facts about the company:

Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital stopped using two harmful anesthesia gasses last year and are now working to reduce the use of two others by 75%, according to a May 21 news release. 

The availability of supplies has improved since early 2023, but these gains have since stalled, according to a May study conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

As geopolitical, economic and cybersecurity issues continue to pose risks to health system supply chains, leaders at top organizations weighed in on a shared priority – making supply chains more resilient and sustainable.

Nearly six months after the FDA told healthcare workers to avoid plastic syringes made in China, the agency has placed import alerts on three China-based medical supply manufacturers. 

On May 15, Global Healthcare Exchange honored 15 healthcare providers and supplies for their "exceptional commitment to advancing healthcare and supporting patients."

After the FDA instructed healthcare facilities to avoid using two Getinge heart devices because of quality and safety concerns, the company stopped promoting the products. 

Mercy is the first and only health system to adopt continuous glucose monitor technology developed by Senseonics Holdings. 

HealthTrust Performance Group, a group purchasing organization that serves about 1,800 hospitals and health systems, now offers customers access to a medical device data analytics database. 

To incentivize domestic medical supply manufacturing, the U.S. is raising tariff rates on syringes, needles, personal protective equipment, and medical and surgical gloves, the White House said May 14. 

Megadyne Medical Products, an equipment manufacturer, is recalling all of its Mega Soft Patient Return Electrodes after four reports of burn injuries, the FDA said May 10.