New Year, (Some) New Topics

As I mentioned in my last editorial of 2024, Healthcare Purchasing News (HPN) has decided to move away from the traditional grid format for editorial calendars that many of you are accustomed to seeing. The reason for that, because there’s always a method to our madness at HPN, is to ensure that we are consistently covering topical stories.

And speaking of topical stories, one such example is this edition’s cover story. The year 2024 saw numerous disasters, man made and natural. Associate Editor Matt MacKenzie comments on the year’s cyberattacks, including Change Healthcare in late February of 2024.

And further, MacKenzie covers hurricanes Helene and Milton in this very important story. As many of our readers are now aware of, the effects of Helene included Baxter’s North Cove facility in North Carolina being taken offline due to severe damage to the site, leading to disruptions in the supply chain for IV solutions.

Being based in Florida, Helene and Milton hit close to home, and HPN diligently covered the updates from Baxter as they became available. MacKenzie’s story starts on page 8.

Looking ahead, 2025 poses to be a very interesting year for the healthcare industry. At the time this edition was published, President-elect Trump has proposed tariffs on foreign imports and made various nominations, including Mehmet Oz, M.D., to be the next Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).

These major happenings —cyberattacks, hurricanes, and a new President set to take office in 2025 — are a major reason why HPN chose to remain more flexible this year when it comes to editorial content in print.

I’d also like to share that Stephen M. Kovach, previous author of SP Insights, has picked a successor, Adam Okada, who has his first column of the year on page 30. Okada starts the year off strong with a double Q&A on wet loads and what Kovach is like in real life! (You don’t want to miss this piece.)

And don’t worry, HPN will cover its usual topics throughout the year as well, including inventory automation, offsite reprocessing, and, of course, celebrating a Sterile Processing Department of the Year as well as a Supply Chain Department of the Year. Keep your eyes out for announcements on our website for instructions on how to apply and important deadlines.

Finally, if you have comments on the proposed tariffs or a timely story to share, please reach out to me at [email protected].