Whether you've been away from the medical supply shelves for a couple of weeks or a couple of hours, you probably haven't been paying close attention to the news. Here's what you missed.
In celebration of starting a new year, all your problems from 2021 have magically fixed themselves! Congratulations!
Wait, that doesn't sound right.
No, it's that other thing: we're in as deep as we ever were into a global pandemic that's overwhelming hospitals and blowing up supply chains. But at least we have a better understanding of our challenges so that we can make better plans to overcome them.
While that doesn't sound "good," that does unfortunately sound "right."
- You probably knew that the omicron variant takes effect more quickly within the body and spreads more quickly between bodies. What you might not have known is that testing saliva is much more accurate in identifying omicron than nasal testing.
- So how does that affect vaccinations? Although the data is still being collected and analyzed, it seems right now that it's okay to get a vaccine or booster while you're infected. Of course, if you know you have COVID-19, you should immediately seek treatment, because the sooner you show symptoms, the more effective the new oral treatments are.
- You probably also saw that the CDC is revising its quarantine recommendations that caused an uproar from the nation's biggest nurses' union among others. You might not have seen that the Supreme Court will be hearing oral arguments about vaccination requirements. Those will absolutely affect your workplace, so you should absolutely pay attention.
- All of the above is contributing to the shortage of healthcare workers that's causing the vast majority of providers to hire temporary workers. Just in the area of nursing, estimates are now that providers will be short-staffed on nurses through 2026.
- The data will likely be coming in on this for years, too, but we're ready to endorse some early indications that staff shortages worsen the quality of care provided to patients. Because it just makes sense.
If you've got more than enough resources to tackle all the challenges that 2022 will throw at you, let us be the first to congratulate you.
But if you walked back into work this week and saw the same shelves with the same inventory problems that were there the last time you left, let us help. Z5 Inventory can help you identify products headed for expiration, identify your expired pharmacy products, and identify your products, period.
See how to start your 2022 savings goals now.
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