Irving-based Vizient has published a conservation guide for adult and pediatric IV push medications because of damage caused by Hurricane Helene to the Baxter International North Cove facility in Marion, N.C.

Baxter’s North Cove plant is a major producer of large-volume IV fluid bags used for patient care across the U.S., and the guide includes detailed information for providers that which will help conserve inventories during this time of potential supply disruption while maintaining the delivery of safe patient care.

“Vizient has been closely monitoring the situation since the storm hit and we are in communication with officials at Baxter as they assess the impact to the facility and their employees,” John Thompson, SVP, med/surg, lab and capital equipment for Vizient, said in a statement. “Because this facility is a significant producer of large volume IV fluids for the U.S., which includes saline, dextrose and lactated ringers, we are encouraging healthcare providers to take immediate action to manage their inventory and implement conservation strategies to help mitigate the risk of shortages.”

Inventory management

Vizient said the strategies for inventory management include:

• Evaluate IV fluid supplies on a health system-wide basis and redeploy solutions to areas of greatest need.
• Minimize unit stock of large-volume bags to the extent possible or stock product only in critical care areas where fluids are an essential component of emergency supplies.
• Ensure smaller volume bags are stocked in other supply areas, especially pediatric areas.
• Ensure purchasing agents have active backorders in place to help ensure your facility is obtaining allocations as available.

Conserving IV fluids

Mittal Sutaria, PharmD, senior vice president, pharmacy contract and program services for Vizient, said that IV fluids are foundational to medication preparation and compounding for hundreds of drugs.

“Immediately implementing conservation strategies will be important to help minimize supply disruptions as the supply chain works to recover,” Sutaria said in a statement. “This guide gives providers a list of medications that can be administered as IV push or slow IV injection in instances of bulk IV fluid shortages.”

Conservation strategies for IV fluids in general include:

• Actively review patients on IV fluids or IV medications to assess discontinuation or the ability to switch to an alternative route of administration, as clinically appropriate.
• Utilize oral rehydration in place of IV fluids when able.
• In instances where oral medication administration is not feasible, consider intramuscular or IV push administration, to conserve fluids, as appropriate based on the medication.
• Consider preparing and dispensing medications that may be administered via IV push in ready-to-administer concentrations packaged in syringes.
• Increase the infusion time of IV fluids wherever applicable.
• Consider discontinuing practice of standing orders to keep infusion lines open and use intermittent line flushing to maintain patency.
• Review ASHP recommendations for management and conservation of Small- and Large-Volume Fluids.

Vizient said it is encouraging all IV fluids manufacturers to increase production and inventory levels to help ensure providers have access to these solutions that are critical to safe and effective patient care.

Vizient is reportedly the nation’s largest provider-driven healthcare performance improvement company, serving more than 65% of the nation’s acute care providers, including 97% of the nation’s academic medical centers, and more than 35% of the non-acute market.

The Vizient contract portfolio represents $140 billion in annual purchasing volume enabling the delivery of cost-effective, high-value care.

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