The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the challenge for healthcare organizations in managing supplies of materials and pharmaceuticals, when faced with a major medical crisis. Discuss potential solutions to this challenge, in the short term and in the long term, by answering the prompts below:

• What steps can healthcare financial leaders take to respond effectively to the supply challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, without incurring unsustainable costs?
• When this pandemic is over, what steps should healthcare financial leaders take to prepare their organizations for similar medical crises in the future?