"Flying Blind”: Canada’s Supply Chain Infrastructure and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Canada’s COVID-19 response has been described as slow, with reactive decision making that has left the most vulnerable populations at risk of infection and death from the virus. Yet, within and across the provincial health systems, the supply chain processes, and data infrastructure needed to generate the relevant data for and evidence of the spread of COVID-19 and the health system’s capacity to respond to the pandemic are non-existent in Canada. Emerging evidence from a national research study highlights the significance of supply chain data infrastructure and processes that offer transparent, real-time data to inform decisions that support a coordinated, evidence-informed pandemic strategy that is proactive and capable of protecting the health of every Canadian.