tiffmaxee
Member Since 2013
I just read the reason why sub-q fluids are becoming hard to get and want to pass this on. This may continue until 2015!!!
Here is why the fluids are in short supply. In November, the FDA paid a visit to Hospira and found some irregularities that required Hospira to close until changes were made. The improvements took Hospira more than a month to complete which started the most recent shortage. Hospira spent millions of dollars on the improvements and decided to pass the costs along to it's customers by tripling their prices for fluids. As a result, the marketplace has shifted away from Hospira fluids which increased demand for B.Bruan, Baxter, and Abbott fluids. The FDA later decided to require some process changes for the other fluid suppliers which shuttered their operations for about a month each putting the market into a further tailspin.
In a meeting this past week with B.Braun our representative told us that they are only supplying businesses that have a contract with B.Braun which is primarily hospitals. They told us that any company that did not have a contract in place with B.Braun by the end of 2013 will not receive any fluids until June 2015 at the earliest. Thankfully, we are able to get fluids from Abbott and will continue to work with all suppliers to ensure an uninterrupted supply of these critical supplies.
If your cat has CRF and needs daily fluids you might want to consider starting to locate a new case well in advance of needing them.
Elise
Here is why the fluids are in short supply. In November, the FDA paid a visit to Hospira and found some irregularities that required Hospira to close until changes were made. The improvements took Hospira more than a month to complete which started the most recent shortage. Hospira spent millions of dollars on the improvements and decided to pass the costs along to it's customers by tripling their prices for fluids. As a result, the marketplace has shifted away from Hospira fluids which increased demand for B.Bruan, Baxter, and Abbott fluids. The FDA later decided to require some process changes for the other fluid suppliers which shuttered their operations for about a month each putting the market into a further tailspin.
In a meeting this past week with B.Braun our representative told us that they are only supplying businesses that have a contract with B.Braun which is primarily hospitals. They told us that any company that did not have a contract in place with B.Braun by the end of 2013 will not receive any fluids until June 2015 at the earliest. Thankfully, we are able to get fluids from Abbott and will continue to work with all suppliers to ensure an uninterrupted supply of these critical supplies.
If your cat has CRF and needs daily fluids you might want to consider starting to locate a new case well in advance of needing them.
Elise
