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Premix: An ISMP best practice

Best practice

According to the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP): To the extent possible, using commercially manufactured parenteral products over manually compounded sterile preparations is a Best Practice for Sterile Compounding.1

Patient safety

The use of premix medications may help reduce compounding errors by enabling pharmacies to compound less often.

Compounding errors to avoid

In a 2020 survey2, the ISMP found that nearly 75% of respondents knew of at least one pharmacy sterile compounding error in the past year, such as:
  • Incorrect dose or concentration (58%)
  • Incorrect base solution (51%)
  • Incorrect base solution volume (43%)
  • Incorrect reconstitution of a drug (volume or diluent) (36%)
  • Incorrect drug (35%)
  • Expired drug, base solution, or compounded sterile preparation (16%)
  • Omission of a drug (5%)

Greater efficiency
The use of premix could help save pharmacy staff time spent in compounding, freeing them to do more
patient-focused tasks.3

Less waste
The use of premix medications may help reduce product waste due to the longer shelf life of premix over compounded products.3

Clinician safety
The use of premix may help reduce needlesticks and accidental drug exposure by reducing the use of syringes to add medication to IV bags in the compounding process.

References
1. 2022 ISMP Guidelines for Sterile Compounding and the Safe Use of Sterile Compounding Technology, page 17.
2. Institute for Safe Medication Practices, October 22, 2020. ISMP Survey Provides Insights into Pharmacy Sterile Compounding Systems and Practices. Accessed at https://home.ecri.org/blogs/ismp-news/ismp-survey-on-sterile-compounding-in-pharmacies-reveals-gaps-challenges on January 3, 2024.
3. AJ Loeb, DA Fishman, TR Kochis. Premixed intravenous admixtures: a critical challenge for hospital pharmacy. Am J Hosp Pharm 1983 Jun;40(6):1041-3. Accessed January 3, 2024.

About Fresenius Kabi USA

Fresenius Kabi is a global health care company that specializes in lifesaving medicines and technologies for infusion, transfusion and clinical nutrition.

Our products are used to help care for critically and chronically ill patients. The people of Fresenius Kabi are driven by a common purpose to put lifesaving medicines and technologies in the hands of people who care for patients, and to find answers to the challenges they face.

For more information or to place an order, contact your IV Therapy Sales Representative or call Customer Service at 1.888.386.1300

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Premix

Feature Comparisons

Fresenius Kabi has a growing portfolio of premix medications in freeflex® bags. All freeflex bags are designed with the clinician in mind, to help reduce needlesticks, drug exposure and waste so they can focus on patient care. See how freeflex bags stack up against the competition in the chart below.

 *Administration port with integrated flow-stop helps avoid leakage when infusion set is removed.

Source: Individual company product websites.
Images above feature product containers and, if applicable, partial view of the front of the overwrap.