U.S. hospitals struggle as storms cut medical products supply chain

Healthcare providers in the United States have been suffering a critical shortage of medical products as the Hurricanes Helene and Milton severely disrupted the supply chain for intravenous (IV) fluids.

Mass General Brigham, the largest hospital-based research enterprise in the United States, announced Friday that it would postpone non-emergent, elective procedures from Sunday through at least Wednesday and that it was unclear when the supply of IV fluids would improve due to uncertainties caused by the nationwide shortage.

More than 86 percent of healthcare providers nationwide are experiencing shortages of IV fluids, according to a survey released on Thursday by Premier Inc., a healthcare logistics company.

The situation started after Hurricane Helene damaged a Baxter IV plant in North Carolina late last month, taking 60 percent of the country's IV solution supply offline for the foreseeable future.

To conserve IV fluid usage, hospitals give patients Gatorade or Pedialyte to stay hydrated when possible. Mass General Brigham encouraged oral hydration and only prepares IV fluid bags when healthcare teams are certain they'll need them.

Xavier Becerra, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services said in a letter dated October 9 to healthcare leaders that the supply may "continue to be constrained" in the coming weeks and Hurricane Milton may further disrupt "an already fragile market."

The Food and Drug Administration and Baxter are identifying alternative IV, dialysis, and nutrition products, and the agency is speeding up reviews of manufacturers' requests to extend the shelf life of products.

However, the Premier survey said smaller medical facilities with 25 or fewer beds were likelier to have none of their IV orders filled. There's also acute concern about dialysis patients who rely on IV treatments at home.

The American Hospital Association urged the Biden administration to take more aggressive action, including invoking the Defense Production Act to prioritize IV solution manufacturing and removing barriers to importing products from foreign suppliers.

Read more:

Florida counts cost of Hurricane Milton amid political storm