Multi-Agency Coordination in Sustained Healthcare Supply Shortages: Lessons from Covid-19, Drug Shortages, and Critical Medical Supply Disruptions

Abstract

This study examined the problem of sustained healthcare supply shortages and the extent to which multi-agency coordination improves shortage management across COVID-19-related disruptions, drug shortages, and critical medical supply disruptions. The purpose was to determine how coordinated communication, shared data, policy alignment, resource sharing, and emergency preparedness contribute to effective healthcare supply shortage management in healthcare enterprise and agency-based cases. A quantitative, cross-sectional, case-based design was used, with data collected from 250 respondents representing hospitals and healthcare facilities, public health agencies, pharmaceutical and logistics organizations, emergency response bodies, regulatory institutions, and policy-related offices. The key independent variables were inter-agency communication, shared data and inventory visibility, policy alignment, resource-sharing mechanisms, and emergency preparedness planning, while the dependent variable was effective healthcare supply shortage management. Data were gathered through a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics, reliability testing, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression. The findings showed high perceived coordination readiness, with a Multi-Agency Coordination Readiness Index of 3.95. Inter-agency communication recorded the highest mean score of 4.12, followed by emergency preparedness planning at 4.05, effective shortage management at 4.01, shared data and inventory visibility at 3.98, policy alignment at 3.84, and resource-sharing mechanisms at 3.76. Reliability results were strong, with Cronbach’s alpha values ranging from 0.78 to 0.89 and an overall instrument reliability of 0.91. Correlation results confirmed significant positive relationships between all coordination variables and shortage management, with shared data and inventory visibility showing the strongest association, r = 0.71, p < 0.01. Regression analysis revealed that the five predictors jointly explained 64% of the variance in effective shortage management, R² = 0.64, F (5,244) = 86.42, p < 0.001. Shared data and inventory visibility was the strongest predictor, β = 0.29, followed by inter-agency communication, β = 0.24, emergency preparedness, β = 0.21, policy alignment, β = 0.18, and resource sharing, β = 0.15. The study implies that healthcare systems should strengthen real-time inventory visibility, emergency communication protocols, coordinated procurement policies, and resource-sharing agreements to improve resilience during prolonged supply disruptions.