To: flatsville who wrote (5266 ) 4/5/1999 11:05:00 AM From: C.K. Houston Read Replies (2) | Respond to
Stop Stockpiling! drugtopics.com Is the industry prepared for how consumers might prepare themselves? With equal unanimity, however, they also agree they will not be able to keep up with demand if patients start hoarding prescription products as 1999 wears on. Unfortunately, the ebb and flow of manufacturing cycles only complicate the matter further. Production drops dramatically at the end of the calendar year , according to Steve Perlowski, director-industry affairs for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. (Perlowski was unable to attend the conference, but his remarks were presented by moderator Bob McHugh of Bischoff & Gaffney Associates, which hosted the meeting.) Perlowski said that companies make time at the end of the year to clean equipment and do preventive maintenance before starting the process anew . The timing could not be worse if hoarding does occur among patients , according to Doug Long, v.p. of trade relations for IMS Health, a consulting company. Long told conference attendees the amount of product in the supply-chain pipeline tends to be at its lowest in December . "If there is a hoarding mentality, it will be [at] the time when months' supply is at the lower point for the year," he explained. Inventories are running a lot leaner than they have in the past ," he pointed out. From 1989 to 1991, the average supply of product inventory in the supply pipeline was approximately 1.2 months. Last year, it was down to approximately one month's supply. Those who advocate stockpiling -- among them, the Red Cross -- have suggested that patients keep up to three months' worth of product on hand. . . .
