Cardinal Health at-Home Customer Frequently Asked Questions - COVID-19
We have been closely following the COVID-19 outbreak. Over the past several months, we implemented business continuity and pandemic contingency plans, working in accordance with guidelines set by the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
We recognize our important role in the healthcare system and have made comprehensive plans so we can support you as best as possible during this time.
Is Cardinal Health at-Home still shipping orders through this time?
Yes, our manufacturing, operations, and distribution center employees are mission-critical and will remain working. Our team members are extending efforts to serve you and continue to be the partner you depend on.
How is Cardinal Health at-Home protecting the health of its employees?
The health and safety of our team members, their families, and our customers is our top priority. As such, new policies are in place enabling any employees who feel sick to stay home. We are committed to our business and will continue to deliver our service promise as much as possible while protecting our team members.
How is Cardinal Health at-Home helping to minimize exposure of their employees to COVID-19?
Beginning Monday, March 16, employees are required to work remotely if their job can be performed remotely. These employees will continue to perform their jobs in support of our front-line employees. We are also limiting visitors and third-party vendors to our facilities.
Will Cardinal Health at-Home sales teams continue to visit customers?
Strict business travel restrictions are in place for our employees, particularly for airline travel. While sales and customer service teams will remain actively engaged in servicing customers, we have asked our sales teams to change in-person meetings to phone calls or video conferences over the next several weeks.
How can we best reach Cardinal Health at-Home during this time?
We are experiencing unprecedented incoming call volumes, which continues to be a challenge as our teams work diligently to support our customers from remote locations. For best service, please contact our teams via email (below) and continue to visit our websites for up to date information.
Emails
HME: gchhimcs@indemed.com
HHA: GMB-CHH-HHS-Express@cardinalhealth.com
Websites
www.cardinalhealth.com/athome-hme
www.cardinalhealth.com/athome-hha
Does Cardinal Health at-Home have enough product to fulfill customer orders?
To continue to support our customers, we are maintaining 100% allocation for the Cardinal Health-brand products, based on historical demand, as long as inventory allows. When 100% allocation can no longer be supported, fair share allocation will be used. When items return to sufficient health by way of supply chain replenishment, customers will return to 100% of the historical usage.
Are other Manufacturer products available for order and in inventory?
We are tracking anticipated supply disruptions with our top vendors daily. All of our partners are working diligently to provide product at historical usage, and we are taking actions to ensure equivalent product is supplied where necessary. Should long term disruptions become unavoidable, we will communicate regarding impacted products. Plans are in place to secure inventory of our most in demand and critical to care products.
How are we ensuring employees in the warehouses are have not been exposed to or infected with COVID-19?
We are doing due diligence in the warehouse and operations space to ensure our team members remain healthy. Supportive policies are in place to encourage team members to stay home when feeling sick. Additional cleaning services are scheduled, and protective supplies are deployed to our teams. We are limiting points of encounter by keeping only employees and partners necessary to operations in the building. Our delivery partners are also implementing measures to limit touchpoints for drivers, therefore limiting touchpoints for our teams.
What precautions are in place if someone at a Cardinal Health at-Home facility tests positive for COVID-19?
Should a member of our team test positive for COVID-19, we are prepared to follow CDC guidelines. The employee will be sent home for recovery. Our facility will be closed for thorough cleaning, at which time distribution services will be supported by other locations in our network where possible.
What are plans for Cardinal Health at-Home if FedEx stops delivering packages?
Our team meets daily with FedEx on health of operations. We will know in advance and communicate immediately of any disruptions to service.
Should disruptions come, we have day-of package intercept plans to handle the day’s deliveries. Beyond, we have prepared partnerships with additional carriers in our distribution areas to assume deliveries long term.
Will orders still ship from all distribution centers in the network?
As of Monday 5/18, the movement of backorders to other distribution centers will be reinstated to ensure orders ship as completely as possible.
Are there changes to order cut-off times?
Order cut-off time will be 3 p.m. local time across our network temporarily. Due to varying state and local safety mandates, we are unable to meet standard operations. This change enables us to adjust our team’s shifts to best meet daily demand and protect the safety of our employees.
Are Inventory levels still available when placing orders online?
As of 5/16, visibility to inventory levels in all distribution centers is available. You will have the ability to change the distribution center from which an order ships.
Are will call orders still accepted?
For the safety of our distribution team members, will call orders to be picked up on site are temporarily no longer accepted. We are keeping exposure at our facilities in mind and limiting visitors and third-party vendors.
Can we as customers place larger orders be placed to better stock on-site inventory and/or supply our patients with more supplies on hand?
As our focus remains on inventory levels critical supply needs and preserving our ability to meet our end customer needs, we are unable to fulfill orders that exceed your normal order quantities or frequency. Orders in excessive quantities will not be shipped. Please contact your sales representative with specific requests and needs outside of normal ordering patterns.
Are there disruptions to product availability?
We are responding rapidly to changes in demand and inventory supply. The current disruptions to product availability are as follows:
- Gloves are no longer available
- PPE (Sanitizer, masks, thermometers, gowns, etc.) and home paper products continues to be limited
- Alcohol Prep Pads are no longer available
How is Cardinal Health at-Home responding to the global shortage of Routine Supplies/PPE?
This is an evolving situation, and we are working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to optimize our nationwide network, Cardinal Health at large is prioritizing the identified “hotspots” in the U.S.
For Cardinal Health products, we are managing manufacturing and distribution of critical inventory for our product portfolio in unprecedented demand. The COVID-19 pandemic is creating industry-wide challenges, including expected delays in inventory replenishment for certain products. We are experiencing backorders and declining inventory levels at rates never experienced before. As a result, customers may experience partial shipments and backorders and, in some instances, products will be out of stock.
To address our manufacturing efforts, Cardinal Health is:
- Utilizing data and analytics to determine demand trends while also monitoring daily inventory health through frequent discussions with product suppliers to understand potential constraints
- Increasing manufacturing shifts and over-time, and increasing inventory levels for products with existing or expected demand spikes
- Collaborating with U.S. and foreign trade authorities to expedite shipments and shorten lead times
- Exploring new supply channels, including partnerships with suppliers outside of the healthcare industry
Additional Support for Small Businesses during COVID-19
As a small business, there are several government-supported programs available for your practice to access during this difficult and uncertain time. In an effort to provide you with a consolidated view of some options at this time, Cardinal Health is providing the SBA Loans Available for Small Businesses document as a resource.
Are there any changes to distribution services?
There are currently no disruptions to our distribution network.
For the most up-to-date information on Cardinal Health Global Preparedness, please visit www.cardinalhealth.com/covid19.