The first step is a shift in mind-set — one we doctors have already accepted. Several weeks ago our hospital’s physician-in-chief called the first meeting of our emergency command structure and told us that we should assume that our job descriptions no longer applied. We would be asked to do whatever we were best suited to do and would achieve whatever was necessary. This is essential framing for how all of us need to approach this disaster: Do whatever is necessary. Do as much as you can.

In the face of a global shortage, American industries can step up and quickly produce ventilators. All week, I have been receiving text messages and emails that say things like “By the way, my company makes parts for G.E. ventilators. We just got a big order that we are pushing through as fast as we can.” The General Motors chief executive, Mary T. Barra, announced that G.M. was working closely with Ventec Life Systems, one of a few ventilator companies based in the U.S., to rapidly scale up production of their critically important respiratory products. My colleagues at the nation’s top hospitals are getting phone calls from tech leaders asking for ventilator specs.

Such stories give me hope. But we need the federal government, too. The White House has said that the Defense Production Act could be invoked to compel industries to make necessary equipment in a time of crisis. That’s a good step, but there appears to be no firm plan other than repurposing ventilators from surgery centers. And if there is a secret one, the absence of timely and transparent information about it has profoundly undermined trust. Healthcare workers and American citizens deserve better than vague reassurance. We need a plan.

The second problem is ventilator distribution. Once industry rapidly scales ventilator production, where should these ventilators be delivered? Which hospitals need them most? How can we build a nimble logistics operation that can rapidly deploy these machines the moment that a shortage appears imminent?

The truth is: We have no idea. We are currently taking an every-hospital-system-for-themselves approach, in which some hospitals will surely say “we’ll take them all” while others will lack the capital to make such large purchases in advance and therefore will be reliant on FEMA, which will be forced to ration scarce, lifesaving equipment. These already cash-strapped hospitals serving poorer populations will soon be put in even greater jeopardy.