Feds take action on Hurricane-wracked medical supply chain with wartime powers, drug compounding guidance
Editor's Note The Biden administration has invoked wartime powers to speed rebuilding of intravenous fluid (IV) manufacturing capacity, CBS News reported October 15, four days after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took steps to combat drug shortages. Both efforts are in response to devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene,…
How Tampa General Hospital prepared for Hurricane Helene
Editor's Note Applying lessons learned from Hurricane Ian in 2022 helped Tampa General Hospital (TGH) successfully withstand Hurricane Helene in late September, according to an October 3 HealthLeaders interview with TGH CEO John Couris. Detailing how strategic preparations ensured the safety of its patients, staff, and critical infrastructure, including its…
ECRI issues guidance to address medical supply shortages caused by hurricanes, dockworkers’ strike
Editor's Note Patient safety nonprofit ECRI is offering resources to help healthcare providers mitigate potential shortages of critical medical supplies following the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene along the US southeast coast and the ongoing strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA). According to an October 1 announcement, the first…
Hurricane disrupts IV fluid manufacturing as hospitals cope with chaos
Editor's Note The shuttering of a critical Baxter International manufacturing plant in North Carolina due to Hurricane Helene could put significant stress on already strained healthcare supply chain, according to an October 1 report in Axios. According to the article, the facility is a critical production center for produces intravenous…
Extreme heat, cyberattacks impact blood supply
Editor's Note The Red Cross is reporting a 25-percent drop in its national blood inventory due to hot weather a month after the American Hospital Association (AHA) warned about the impact of cyberattacks on critical supplies at hospitals. According to an August 6 report in The Hill, heat-related challenges have…
FDA warns healthcare providers to conserve blood culture media bottles amid shortage
Editor's Note Healthcare providers should consider strategies to conserve BD BACTEC blood culture media bottles for patients at highest risk due to an ongoing shortage, according to a July 10 report from The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Attributing the shortage to supplier issues, FDA warns that the disruption…
Supply chain stress fractures demand rock-solid continuity planning
More than 4 years after personal protective equipment production and inventories crashed amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, the “new normal” in healthcare supply chains seems to be “uncertainty.” Although hospital margins are improving and patient volumes are trending upward, “stress fractures continue to remain in place,” says Michael Schiller, CMRP,…
Unveiling ECRI’s 2024 Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns list
From integrating new technology to navigating shifts in care delivery and mitigating burnout, the most pressing challenges for healthcare organizations tend to be multifaceted problems that demand multifaceted solutions. For evidence of that, look no further than the Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns 2024 list from ECRI. For every risk…
Session: Imminent supply chain disruptors—What's your business continuity plan?
Editor's Note “Can cost and resiliency co-exist?” Michael Schiller, CMRP, executive director (interim) of the Association for Healthcare Resources and Materials Management—a professional membership group of the American Hospital Association—asked this session’s audience on the last day of the OR Business Management Conference. “They can co-exist,” he said, “but resiliency…
FDA: Five companies are having amoxicillin shortages
Editor's Note As of November 1, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) listed 26 amoxicillin products on its current drug shortages site. The FDA says increased demand is the largest cause of the shortage. The FDA does not list resupply dates, but the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) estimates…
Free Daily News
- Hospital safety grades show progress in reducing medical errors, infections
- Analysis: Overuse of back surgeries costs Medicare $2 billion, risks patient safety
- AI-powered surgical robot learns by watching
- AHA's Congressional "wish list" calls for financial relief, patient access, workforce protections
- Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rates lag pre-pandemic levels, racial disparities persist
- Honoring the OR Manager Award winners this Perioperative Nurses Week
- Study: Demand for anesthesiologists rises sharply, driven by job market, regional variations
- Joint Commission Sentinel Event Alert details environmental disaster preparation
- ACS recognizes 77 hospitals for excellence in surgical outcomes
- Color-changing gel could enhance cataract surgery safety, efficiency