Hospitals Managing IV Shortage
Published: Nov. 16, 2017
Patients still are having surgery and getting the medications they need, but several area hospitals say they are having to make some adjustments in how drugs are administered in the face of a national shortage of certain types of intravenous fluids.
The American Hospital Association noted in a bulletin in late October that the shortages were triggered by several factors, including pharmaceutical market consolidation and production interruptions at some manufacturing plants because of quality concerns.
Supplies, particularly of small bags of solutions, took another hit, however, as a result of Hurricane Maria’s impact on manufacturing plants in Puerto Rico.
Methodist Hospital, too, has made some small changes in order to conserve supplies, said Paula Danekas, the hospital’s service executive for pharmacy.
