Watch out for scams that seek to take advantage of the need for personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus outbreak, says Chaun Powell, group vice president of strategic supplier engagement at Premier, Inc. Powell is reporting that the grey market has N95 masks up for sale by unauthorized distributors and is warning health systems that the marketing of counterfeit products that are so desperately needed during the COVID-19 crisis may rise. On his blog on the Premier, Inc. website, he advises that health systems do the following to avoid being scammed during the novel coronavirus crisis:

• Make sure the product is FDA registered
• If the price or offer seems too good to be true, it probably is
• Develop a policy for how you do business with distributors and suppliers
• Always check a product’s legitimacy
• Carefully look at and compare packages and contents from new suppliers
• Keep records of all vendors