The war in Iran and the Middle East has upended the global supply chain and healthcare is no different.
Early data indicates that critical hospital supplies will be affected by disruptions in the Middle East including shortages of petroleum-based products such as nitrile gloves. Clarium’s ability to use data and capture potential slowdowns in the supply chain can help hospitals prepare for these impending challenges.
The Strait of Hormuz, a waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, has been closed since early March restricting cargo traffic and stranding ships. Around 20 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products passed through the Strait every day in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency. The IEA says the current disruption is "creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market."
A vast majority of pharmaceutical and hospital supply products are made from petroleum. Long-term disruptions to the availability of petroleum products may cause shortages of critical supplies in hospitals.
Over the last week, Clarium’s data found there has been more than a 1,000 percent increase in health systems getting rejected by suppliers when ordering nitrile-based gloves, which are made from petroleum-based products. Suppliers went from rejecting an average of 2-3 purchase orders per day at the start of the month to an average of 31 per day from March 16 to March 24.
Multiple customers have similarly reported nitrile-based gloves on allocation indicating a limited supply of these products. This was confirmed by a major distributor, citing Middle East conflict affecting the availability of raw materials such as butadiene, which is essential in producing nitrile gloves.
Supply chain leaders are concerned the nitrile-based gloves represent the tip of the iceberg. One hospital supply chain leader predicted this could disrupt the supply chain in a way that hasn’t been seen since the early days of COVID-19.
Here are some tips on how leaders can navigate this growing disruption:
Start clinical substitution conversations before you're in crisis mode: Clinicians often require trial periods before accepting product substitutions. Once shortages hit, you may not have the time. Engage clinical stakeholders now on gloves and other at-risk categories.
Expand your monitoring beyond to pharmacy: The next wave of shortages may hit the pharmacy. Supply chain and pharmacy leaders should be meeting jointly to assess exposure now.
Escalate to your C-suite and establish an incident command structure: Supply chain leaders should brief their CFO and COO. It may be helpful to establish a cross-functional response team spanning supply chain, clinical, pharmacy, and finance.
Flag affected items in Clarium's Disruption Monitor now: For Clarium customers, track your exposure in real time and begin building substitution options before shortages force your hand. Clarium's substitution recommendation engine draws on a robust universal item master with built-in AI intelligence to deliver smart, scalable, item-level alternatives.
When unexpected disruptions occur, Clarium keeps your operations moving seamlessly by using a powerful substitution recommendation engine that taps into a robust universal item master with built-in AI intelligence to deliver smart, scalable, item-level alternatives. We help health systems unify operational data into a single system and give them a clearer picture of their enterprise during stressful times.