National Survey Reveals a Pharmacy Supply Chain Visibility Crisis

Executive Summary

• Tecsys released a national survey highlighting that only 20% of healthcare leaders have real‑time visibility across pharmacy supply chains.
• 77% of respondents feel unprepared for major disruptions, and 79% cite drug shortages as the top source of operational disruption.
• Adoption of AI/ML for demand forecasting and inventory optimization remains low at just 15%, underscoring a technology gap in the sector.

Key Details

• Survey scope: 201 health‑system executives with ≥ $1 billion annual revenue, conducted online in October 2025.
• Visibility gap: Only 1 in 5 leaders report full, real‑time visibility across inventory and care settings.
• Preparedness: 77% say they are not fully prepared for major disruptions.
• Disruption drivers: 79% identify drug shortages; 63% each cite demand spikes and raw material shortages.
• AI/ML deployment: Only 15% have fully deployed these technologies for forecasting, optimization, or risk prediction.
• Strategic perception mismatch: 48% of pharmacy/supply‑chain leaders view their function as strategic vs. only 15% of hospital executives.
• Quotes: Jeff Wagner (Texas Children’s Hospital) stresses the operational impact of limited visibility; Dr. Valerie Bandy (Tecsys) notes the critical inflection point for pharmacy operations.
• Report availability: Full “Visibility Crisis in Health System Pharmacies” report can be downloaded at https://infohub.tecsys.com/e-book/pharmacy-survey-report-2026.

Notable Quotes

“The survey findings reflect what we see every day in hospital network pharmacies: without real‑time supply chain visibility, teams are forced to make critical decisions with incomplete information.” – Jeff Wagner, Vice President of Pharmacy, Respiratory Care, and ECMO Services, Texas Children’s Hospital

“It’s clear from the findings that we’re at a critical inflection point in pharmacy operations.” – Dr. Valerie Bandy, Vice President of Pharmacy Solutions, Tecsys