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The global COVID-19 pandemic snuck up on the world in an unprecedented crisis, causing the death of almost 7 million people.

Our health systems weren’t prepared to combat the aggressive and devastating results of the virus.

After months of remarkable efforts from doctors and scientists across the world, experts created a lifesaving vaccine that continues to be dispensed today.

One of the biggest takeaways from the pandemic? Just how important preparedness is.

In 2020, the world stood on the reactive side of the virus. All of our efforts were directly tied to slowing the number of infections.

And today, there is an opportunity to get ahead of inevitable surges in COVID-19 forecasted by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).

The CDC’s recent warning of a potential “tripledemic” this fall — a combination of rising COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases — must be used as an opportunity for our state and federal governments to evaluate the practices and procedures related to disease control and prevention.

In particular, the difficulties in ordering vaccines through the Healthcare Partner Order Portal (HPoP) must be reassessed.

The HPoP is a portal for doctors, pharmacists and other providers to request federally purchased and state-allocated vaccines and COVID-19 therapeutics. These therapeutics drastically reduce the symptoms of COVID-19 and can be lifesaving for patients. They play a crucial role in reducing the spread of the virus.

With nearly 90% of Americans living in a 5-mile radius of a pharmacy, pharmacists are often at the forefront of distributing therapeutics.

In Oregon, more than 4,000 pharmacists work to ensure patients receive the therapeutics they need.

However, this also means they are left with the burden of navigating massive orders in the highly complex and burdensome HPoP.

While pharmacists should be preparing for an uptick in viruses and patients, they are instead tasked with navigating the portal’s complicated digital infrastructure. The obscure processes required to order the livesaving vaccines and therapeutics, coupled with complex reporting requirements, leaves pharmacists little-to-no time for day-to-day pharmacy operations.

Everyday activities like meeting with patients can fall by the wayside due to the difficulty of working within HPoP.

This is particularly true for independent and smaller community pharmacies.

Though they are typically the go-to treatment source for their communities, smaller pharmacies are often unable to keep these life-saving therapeutics on the shelves due to their inability to successfully order and report through HPoP. Additional bureaucratic requirements to report weekly drug inventories adds administrative burdens and takes time away from treating patients for COVID-19 and other diseases.

The complexity of the HPoP derails larger efforts to protect Oregon communities and get ahead of rising COVID-19, influenza and RSV cases.

While pharmacists and doctors are working hard to heed the CDC’s warning, they are hit with unnecessary roadblocks that impact access for thousands of Oregonians.

Our providers should be able to easily request, order and report out on federally supplied resources without sacrificing other operational aspects of the pharmacy. It is not a want, but a need to have these supplies on the shelves and available for patients at all times.

The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has an opportunity to do what no one could at the start of the pandemic. They can help pharmacists, doctors and other providers be prepared for a surge in COVID-19, influenza and RSV cases.

OHA must work with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to simplify the HPoP and maintain accessibility for the lifesaving therapeutics our communities need.