The Analysis of International Medical-related Stockpile Systems

The Analysis of International Medical-related Stockpile Systems

In response to the surge capacity caused by accidental or unexpected emergencies and disasters, many countries have established medical-related stockpile systems to lower down the impact on epidemic prevention and medical systems, protect public's health and maintain confidence in the government. We reviewed the purposes and contents of the medical related stockpile systems in the United States, Canada, Australia, Singapore and Taiwan. The study showed that most countries had endeavored to develop sustainable management models such as risk assessment and stockpile replacement to utilize the budget more efficiently. We also found that the management of medical related stockpile system of personal protective equipment (PPE), operated by the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC), was compatible with the international standards, including risk assessment based procurements, the three-tier stockpiling framework and the stockpile replacement model, which saved large amount of government expenditure. Besides, the stockpile system in Taiwan CDC was characteristic of maintaining minimum stockpile of PPE, comprehensive delivery network and the establishment of Management Information System. In the future, we could improve the effectiveness of national medical related stockpile system by upgrading the delivery time according to the capability of the logistics in Taiwan and exchange the stockpile information among different government departments.