Medicine's commodity dependencies and the Strait of Hormuz.

The 2026 closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted approximately one-fifth of global petroleum transit, sending oil prices sharply upward and exposing medicine's structural dependence on petrochemicals, helium, and globalized manufacturing. This contribution examines how medicine's reliance on globalized commodities exposes patients to medication and device shortages during sustained supply disruption. Prior crises, including the 1973 oil embargo and the 2021 Suez blockage, revealed vulnerabilities that current just-in-time supply chains have deepened. We urge practice leaders, hospital administrators, and clinicians to establish supply continuity frameworks now, before scarcity forces improvised rationing and reactive procurement.

Abstract from PubMed