Despite the government's all-out efforts to prevent disruptions in the supply of medical products made from naphtha, such as disposable syringes, following the U.S.-Iran war, anxiety is spreading across the healthcare sector. While the Ministry of Health and Welfare has asked medical institutions to refrain from stockpiling, promising to prioritize supply of both finished products and raw materials for additional production, clinics and pharmacies on the front lines say they "couldn't stockpile even if they wanted to." Local clinics typically keep only one week to one month's worth of medical supplies such as syringes in stock, raising concerns that a prolonged conflict could lead to patient harm.
At a meeting with the Korean Hospital Association on Wednesday to discuss stable supply of medical products, Second Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Lee Hyung-hoon said, "While some large hospitals are stockpiling medical products due to the Middle East war, small and medium-sized hospitals and clinics are struggling to secure essential products such as syringes." He added, "We ask for the hospital association's cooperation in ensuring member hospitals do not unnecessarily increase their inventories of medical products."
The government has identified the issue as a distribution problem rather than a production problem. According to the ministry, one month's supply of syringes and three months' supply of needles have been secured. Additional production is also possible with currently secured raw materials. However, as geopolitical risks in the Middle East persist, naphtha prices—the primary raw material for medical supplies such as syringes and needles, as well as packaging materials including medicine vials and medicine pouches—have surged, putting hospitals, pharmacies, and wholesalers on high alert. Unlike large hospitals that typically maintain two to three months of medical product inventory, clinic-level medical institutions do not bother to stock relatively inexpensive items such as IV solutions. Confusion is mounting as suppliers of medical consumables—including disposable syringes, needles, and disposable gloves for which separate pricing is not possible—have been raising supply prices or imposing limits on purchase frequency and quantities.
The Korean Medical Association (KMA) estimates that stocks of synthetic resin products using naphtha, such as disposable syringes, IV packaging materials, and medical tubes, stand at two weeks to one month. "We continue to receive reports of price increases or stockouts from individual clinics and small to medium-sized hospitals that purchase related supplies online," a KMA official said. "Consumption of syringes and medicine packaging is high, and we understand that packaging materials are particularly scarce for in-house manufactured medicines." The KMA and the Korean Hospital Association have formed response teams and are monitoring the situation in real time. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety held a meeting Wednesday with 15 medical device distributors to ensure stable supply of essential medical devices such as syringes, sharing supply monitoring status and discussing the establishment of hotlines for smooth communication.
