Alaska healthcare facilities conserve IV fluids during national shortage

Alaska’s healthcare facilities are conserving use of intravenous or IV fluids as part of a statewide response to supply shortages. Hurricane Helene halted production at Baxter International, the largest supplier of IV fluids and outpatient dialysis solutions in the country. It could be months before the North Carolina facility resumes production.

Coleman Cutchins, a clinical pharmacist working for the Alaska Department of Health, said major drug shortages are very common. But he said he is concerned about this supply disruption. 

“Almost every single patient who gets admitted to the hospital gets something related to an IV fluid at some point while they're there,” Cutchins said. “ not a whole lot of manufacturers. In this case, there's one big factory that makes most of these for the United States, and then that factory completely goes down.”

He said healthcare centers in Alaska are doing a lot of work now to prevent severe shortages later. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends facilities monitor their supply and reduce use where they can. The CDC suggests conserving by doing things like waiting to replace IV fluids until bags are empty and helping people rehydrate by mouth when possible. 

Cutchins said hospitals can reduce their IV fluid usage significantly by following those recommendations. 

“There's a huge opportunity for conservation that doesn't have a large impact on patient care,” Cutchins said.

Cutchins said the state will step in to coordinate targeted conversations between healthcare facilities and organizations if the shortage worsens. As of publication, healthcare facilities weren’t making major changes to patient care because of the shortage.

A representative from Providence Alaska said Baxter provides the hospital with about 130 different supplies and they’re employing “strategies to ensure there is no disruption to patient care.” A representative from the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium said Baxter is not their supplier but they’re conserving to help ensure continued availability statewide.

According to a press release from Baxter, the company is tapping global supply of IV fluids to compensate for the shortage. Baxter said they’re making progress toward reopening, and aim for full production of IV fluids by the beginning of 2025. 

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