October 21, 2024- Hospital and health system leaders participated in a call hosted by Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on Oct. 18 at 1:30 p.m. ET to hear updates about the response to the effects of Hurricane Helene on Baxter’s manufacturing facility in North Carolina. HHS and Baxter officials discussed their efforts to mitigate any gaps in supply, minimize disruption to patient care, and support restoration to normal operations as soon as possible.
EFFORTS TO PREVENT PRICE GOUGING AND HOW TO REPORT VIOLATIONS The federal government has put companies on notice that price gouging for essential medical supplies like IV solutions will not be tolerated. The Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned that law enforcement would use every tool available to stop price gouging, price fixing and other illegal scams. They encourage people to report violations at http://www.justice.gov/DisasterComplaintForm or http://www.reportfraud.ftc.gov/.
NEW AHA PODCAST ON CONSERVATION, OTHER RESOURCES The AHA yesterday released a podcast in which Michael Schiller, executive director of AHA’s Association for Health Care Resource & Materials Management, and Michael Ganio, senior director of pharmacy practice and quality with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, discuss the current situation with IV fluid supplies and the need to create conservation plans for critical patient supplies that could be threatened by a disaster or other event. Visit AHA’s webpage for the latest information and other resources related to the IV solution supply disruption.
BACKGROUND
The AHA is continuing efforts on multiple fronts to provide updates and assist members related to the supply chain issues resulting from the closure of a Baxter manufacturing plant in North Carolina because of damage from Hurricane Helene. The plant had manufactured approximately 60% — or 1.5 million bags — of the IV solutions used every day in the U.S. FURTHER QUESTIONS If you have questions, please contact Nancy Foster, vice president for quality and patient safety policy, at nfoster@aha.org, or Roslyne Schulman, director of policy at rschulman@aha.org.