International Health Security Poll

Healthcare Ready conducted a poll in targeted countries worldwide to gain insights on patient-level perspectives on access to medicines, particularly during public health emergencies or following natural disasters. While many organizations collect data on countries’ healthcare systems as an assessment of health security, this poll collected data from the patient’s perspective and understand the gaps between systemic and individual preparedness and response capacity.

International Supply Chain Innovations

In an effort to identify and showcase innovations and novel partnerships happening in supply chains across the world, Healthcare Ready analyzed supply chains in three different countries during normal operations and emergencies. Click on each image below to read about innovative solutions supply chain components are implementing in response to challenges they encounter.

Pandemic Preparedness

Healthcare Ready is constantly identifying and promoting ways of increasing pandemic preparedness.

Our notable activations include:

• A year-long activation in 2009 for H1N1 focused on providing pharmacists with the tools needed to increase immunizations and rapidly share information with clients and public health departments (as appropriate).
• As a part of our response to the Ebola epidemic, Healthcare Ready developed job guidance and supplemental materials for pharmacists
  • Aides on the courses of action to take if a patient presented with Ebola virus disease at a pharmacy.
  • Resources for pharmacists and pharmacy owners on limiting exposure to infectious disease and best practices to improve partnerships with local health departments.

Our advocacy and policy experience includes:

• Authoring a report on the feasibility of community pharmacy text messaging to provide vaccination reminders
• Our advocacy for a more standardized, national approach led to collaboration with the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) to develop a national framework for health departments’ use of pharmacies as vaccination sites.
  • Supported the development of an inventory tool, Countermeasure Inventory Tracking Dashboard (CIT), a situational awareness tool to assist federal and state officials with decision-making for the release of stockpiled assets. Healthcare Ready helped identify and convene potential users of the CIT.
  • Exercise support to study pharmacy’s ability to mass vaccinate in a future pandemic through exercise planning, day-of execution as controller/evaluator and after-action analysis.

• Advocating for the continued integration of public health and pharmacy and on:
  • Tools such as the Emergency Prescription Assistance Program (EPAP)
  • Utilization of the normal supply chain to distribute stockpiled antivirals to hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies. This reduces burden on the public health and leverages the strengths of private sector experts.

• Partnering with the Emergency Preparedness Task Group for the National Council of Prescription Drug Programs to develop guidance for pharmacists working through emergency events
  • Leveraging Rx Open as a tool for pharmacists to use and recommend to clients during an event

• Healthcare Ready teamed up with one of our private sector partners, Jim Williams with Sears Holdings to review guidance available to the private sector on influenza pandemic preparedness.
  • An investigation of current guidance for private sector: planning, preparedness and perceived threat of a virulent influenza pandemic.