Polskie Stowarzyszenie Menedżerów Logistyki i Zakupów

szpitale muszą zmierzyć się z niedostatkiem toreb z powodu huraganu w puerto rico
Hospitals face critical shortage of IV bags due to Puerto Rico hurricane

huragan sparaliżował głównego fabrykanta torebek do kroplówek i pomimo że centra odnowy biologicznej płacą 600% nadwyżki
Hurricane Maria crippled a key maker of fluid bags, and as ‘wellness’ clinics pay a 600%
szpitali nie stać aby dać sobie rady bez nich
markup, hospitals unable to afford them scramble to make do without
zazwyczaj kupuje dożylne płyny fizjologiczne które jego firma oferuje ludziom na kacu
Asa Kitfield usually purchases the intravenous saline fluids that his company NutriDrip offers
i hurtowniom które zaopatrują kampanie odnowy biologicznej
to hangover sufferers and “wellness”-seekers from wholesale medical supply companies.
ale gdy huragan uderzył na puerto rico we wrześniu zmiatając sieć elektryczną i
But when Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico last September – wiping out the electrical grid and
niszcząc jednego z głównych producentów worków na kroplówkę w USA
crippling one of the United States’ only manufacturers of IV fluids – Kitfield’s sources ran dry.

“That was a nightmare,” Kitfield said. “We actually lost a lot of money during that period.” He
ended up turning to medical supply resellers, paying as much as a 600% markup for the sterile
bags of saline solution that play a critical role in modern medicine.

But what worked for Kitfield and his affluent customers is not an option for the country’s entire
healthcare system, which has been hobbled by a nationwide shortage for months now.

“Hospitals don’t have the money to pay that kind of markup,” said Erin Fox, director of the
University of Utah’s drug information service, where she tracks and studies drug shortages.

The University of Utah’s hospital usually goes through about 800-1,000 “mini-bags” of IV fluids
every day. Since the shortages began, Fox said, they are struggling to get by with less than half
that.

“We’ve seen some pretty terrible shortages,” said Fox. “This shortage proves that things can
always get worse … It affects every single medication that we are giving in our hospital.”

Mini-bags of IV fluids are ubiquitous in hospitals, where they are used to dilute and administer
medication. There are only a handful of manufacturers in the US, and one of them – Baxter
International – has all of its mini-bag factories in Puerto Rico. As of 4 January, electrical power
had been restored to just 58.1% of Puerto Ricans, and some parts of the island are expected
to remain dark until May.

Though the federal government has worked with Baxter to get the plants back online, and to
allow it to import IV fluids from abroad, serious shortages persist.

POLSKIE STOWARZYSZENIE MENEDŻERÓW LOGISTYKI I ZAKUPÓW, ul. Rakowiecka 41/8, 02-521 Warszawa
Tel. 22 64 64 400, Tel./fax 22 64 64 406
Sąd Rejonowy dla M. St. Warszawy, XX Wydz. Gospod. Krajowego Rejestru SądowegoKRS:140880
REGON: 015337831 NIP: 521-32-26-558
Konto bankowe: PKO BP S.A. LIII O/Warszawa nr 44 1020 1068 0000 1902 0001 8143
 Polskie Stowarzyszenie Menedżerów Logistyki i Zakupów

“It really doesn’t speak very well to our healthcare system at this point,” said Dr Rita Jew,
director of pharmacy at the University of California San Francisco’s Mission Bay hospital. “A
lot of people are referring to this like it’s almost like we’re in a third world country, and there’s
some truth to that. These are basic supplies that we have taken for granted. It’s kind of like we’re
rationing water in the US.”

Most hospitals have resorted to administering medications through “IV push”, a procedure that
requires a nurse to inject the drugs directly into an IV line. The change in procedure has been
“frustrating and stressful for nurses”, said Cathy Kennedy, a staff nurse and union representative
at a Kaiser hospital in northern California.

“Nurses can’t quickly push these medications,” the 39-year nursing veteran said. “It could cause
harm to the patient … Can it be done? Yes. But in order for it to be safe, then you have to look at
your manpower.”

At UCSF, Jew’s team decided that an old-fashioned system known as a buretrol device would be
“more efficient and safer” than IV pushes. Most hospitals haven’t used buretrols in over 10
years, Jew said, so younger nurses are learning the procedure for the first time.

Both the government and Baxter continue to assure the public that they are working hard to
return to normal supplies, but in the meantime, hospitals can’t put patients on pause while they
wait.

Jew is keeping an anxious eye on the progression of flu season, which is just beginning and has
already killed 27 people under the age of 65 in California.

“I have been in practice for 27 years,” Jew said, “and this is the worst shortage we’ve ever had.”

Source: The Guardian

Task:

Suggest a short-term and a long-term solutions to the problem described in

the article.

Good luck! 

POLSKIE STOWARZYSZENIE MENEDŻERÓW LOGISTYKI I ZAKUPÓW, ul. Rakowiecka 41/8, 02-521 Warszawa
Tel. 22 64 64 400, Tel./fax 22 64 64 406
Sąd Rejonowy dla M. St. Warszawy, XX Wydz. Gospod. Krajowego Rejestru SądowegoKRS:140880
REGON: 015337831 NIP: 521-32-26-558
Konto bankowe: PKO BP S.A. LIII O/Warszawa nr 44 1020 1068 0000 1902 0001 8143