Trump Administration Declares National Public Health Emergency For Opioid Crisis
Staff Contact: Alison Williams
 President Trump announced a national public health emergency, directing all agencies with authority to use available resources to fight the opioid epidemic. Several changes to federal laws and regulations, to reign in access to opioids and provide additional treatment options, were proposed. Trump indicated the administration would quickly take action on recommendations from his opioid task force when the report is delivered in the coming weeks.
MHA released a statement on the announcement along with an updated Missouri-specific opioid fact sheet. Additional resources are available on MHAnet, including an interactive toolkit for hospitals.
Back To Top
AHA Releases Quality Advisory On IV Fluid Shortages
Staff Contact: Alison Williams
The American Hospital Association released a Quality Advisory entitled "Small-Volume Parenteral Medication Shortages: Strategies for Conservation." These national shortages were triggered by several factors, including continued pharmaceutical market consolidation and production interruptions at some manufacturing facilities due to serious quality issues. Sshortages have worsened dramatically as a result of Hurricane Maria’s impact on manufacturing plants in Puerto Rico. The most significant and severe shortage is for small-volume parenteral solutions, such as the 50 and 100 milliliter “minibags” of sodium chloride 0.9 percent, dextrose 5 percent and IV nutritional products made by Baxter.
Back To Top
Resources And Strategies Available To Manage Saline Supply Shortages
Staff Contact: Jackie Gatz
In response to the recent saline supply shortages, the Food and Drug Administration is working with Baxter and other drug companies to mitigate the impact of the shortages and expedite the restoration of operations in areas impacted by the hurricanes. While the FDA has permitted Baxter to import supplies from international plants, it is not anticipated to resolve the current shortage, as full recovery and restoration of production sites in Puerto Rico will take several months.
To assist hospitals and health systems with the management of these supply shortages, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, in collaboration with the University of Utah Drug Information Service, has compiled the following document.
While MHA staff continue to monitor this shortage and share pertinent updates as available, hospitals are encouraged to reference the FDA drug shortage website for current information or directly contact the product manufacturers.
Back To Top
CMS Updates Hospital Compare Website
Staff Contact: Sherry Buschjost
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services updated the Hospital Compare website. Details are available.
Back To Top
|