@Risk

Most businesses in the U.S. are unprepared for widespread employee absenteeism in the event of a swine flu outbreak, according to a Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) study released yesterday.

The Harvard Opinion Research Program at HSPH polled more than 1,000 companies from July 16 through August 12, 2009. The researchers found that only one-third of respondents believe they could sustain their business without severe operational problems if half their workforce were absent for two weeks due to H1N1.

(more…)

With news of the impending flu season now making headlines every week, it’s no surprise that lately I’ve been thinking about supplier risk in the medical products supply chain.

The globalization of manufacturing and supply of medical products has created an array of significant supplier risk management challenges for the industry, for governing organizations like the FDA, and for the international health care community as a whole.

Chief among these challenges are questions like these: How can the safety of medical products be ensured? and Who, ultimately, is responsible for securing the global medical products supply chain?

(more…)

Over the weekend, it was anticipation of a strike by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) employees that had me thinking about the human capital of supply chains.

Now, the spotlight is shining on that aspect of risk management again as yesterday, no less than three Cabinet secretaries from the Obama administration took the stage to urge employers to prepare for a widespread swine flu outbreak.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano held a joint news conference to release new federal guidelines designed to help businesses prepare for and respond to the upcoming flu season.

For example, federal officials are advising that employers:

(more…)

I’ve posted before about preparing for the potential impact of swine flu on your supply chain.

But according to legal experts, it’s also time for companies to start readying themselves for an increase in lawsuits filed by employees who become ill with H1N1 influenza. Personal injury, health and safety, and negligence claims are all likely to rise over the next year.

“If employers don’t take some steps to consider what will happen if someone is affected, there are a myriad of health and safety and duty of care regulations that would come into play,” Caroline Doran, partner in employment law at Sprecher Grier Halberstam, told the Guardian.co.uk .

(more…)

Swine flu continues to make headlines this summer, particularly “across the pond” where late last week, the UK’s Home Secretary declared that the virus is a greater threat to Britain than terrorism, and its Chief Medical Officer predicted as many as 65,000 British deaths.
(more…)