Strengthening Public Health Through Smarter Inventory Management: Insights from NACCHO360
Jul 29, 2025 | Shannon Duffy
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MyNACCHO LoginAt the 2025 NACCHO360 conference in Anaheim, CA, local public health professionals gathered for a dynamic focus group led by NACCHO to explore the evolving landscape of inventory management systems at local health departments. This focus group is part of an ongoing project with the Center for the HHS Coordination Operations and Response Element (H-CORE) at the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR).
The session opened with engaging icebreakers which revealed common challenges: outdated systems, lack of standardization, increased workforce capacity, and the need for better data practices.
The NACCHO team presented findings from a convenience survey sent to LHDs earlier this year on the capacity of their Inventory Management Systems (IMS), highlighting the diversity of inventory systems in use—from Excel spreadsheets to sophisticated platforms. The survey revealed a lack of standardization, with 27 different systems identified, as well as barriers such as cost, interoperability, and limited staff training.
Participants shared their experiences with AI-assisted tools and emphasized the importance of features like barcode scanning, expiration alerts, and real-time reporting, while also noting the need for systems that are cost-effective and easy to use.
Key challenges discussed included inconsistent terminology, manual data entry, and limited integration between state and local systems. Participants also noted that resource requests can be submitted on a form, or a phone call—depending on the capacity or event. The lack of formal data sharing agreements was also a common thread, though most participants reported informal collaboration with partners like hospitals, EMS, schools, and tribal entities.
The session concluded with some themes surrounding possible next steps:
Standardized language for data sharing between state and local health departments
A dedicated communication channel for peer to peer and/or state to local discussions on IMS
This focus group underscored the critical role of inventory management in public health preparedness and response. By fostering collaboration and innovation, local health departments can build more resilient systems to meet future challenges. Local health departments and their local partners (i.e., EMS, Hospitals etc.) play a critical role in dispersing public health asses to the last mile and inch, respectively. As such, it is imperative for federal partners and state and local health departments to collaborate and align initiatives in perpetration of future emergencies that will require rapid responses.
Local health departments play a critical role in the last mile, with their local partners reaching the last inch. When it comes to disasters response, having a ready public health workforce and inventory management system can lead to more lives saved.
For more information on this initiative, please view previous articles on the project surrounding Inventory Management Systems:
