It is apparent with each public health crisis experienced that there is a need to establish an information architecture system that can be used to support nationwide PPE monitoring and analysis within the healthcare industry. NIOSH-NPPTL identified and initiated a contract with the Center for Medical Interoperability (C4MI). C4MI is a 501(c)(3) cooperative research and development lab funded by health systems to simplify and advanced data sharing among medical technologies and systems using a centralized, vendor-neutral approach. Under a research and development contract, C4MI developed an alpha PPE Supply Management App Version 1 that was deployed in 2020. This initial application focused on exporting data from hospital systems that were willing to provide limited hospital characteristics and PPE inventory data. The alpha deployment included a limited set of PPE types (N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs), surgical masks, and face shields). Hospitals were asked to report the current quantities of PPE currently in their possession in "eaches" for each PPE type and broken down by individual units by manufacturer and model number. For 15 weeks 78 hospitals reported near-daily PPE inventories. The data, however, could not be quickly processed for its original intention of identifying potential shortages and trends in PPE use across the country. Specifically, after data cleaning and validation, 74.2% of the PPE model numbers provided could be verified. Within the three PPE categories, 60% of the N95 respirator models reported could be verified; 40% of face shields, and 84% of surgical masks. Additionally, only about one-third of the manufacturers provided were correct; the remaining number were those of private labels or marketers of the PPE. In order to utilize future automated PPE surveillance systems, it is clear that a PPE data standard that outlines consistent nomenclature is critical. NIOSH proposes that such a standard would require reporting of PPE model numbers and manufacturers and, if available, NIOSH approval numbers. This level of granularity is necessary as a means to quickly identify counterfeit and substandard respiratory protection. Capturing PPE inventory at the level of manufacturer and model number provides a means to immediately notify healthcare entities and others of equipment that could put workers at risk.

Existing Wording:

None

Proposed Wording:

Develop a PPE inventory data standard at the granularity of the manufacturer, model number, and, if available, the NIOSH approval number for respirators.