Blood Pressure Cuff Supply Updates

DEERFIELD, Ill. - 2024-12-10

We understand the critical importance of supply continuity and are committed to providing transparent and proactive communications related to the temporary supply constraint of Baxter's Blood Pressure Cuffs. We thank you for your understanding as we navigate this challenge. Please see below for relevant information that will be updated regularly.

Manufacturing: As of Oct. 31, Baxter's manufacturing of BP Cuffs fully resumed 100% production and operations are currently running 24/7, producing volumes and shipments consistent with pre-disruption amounts. Please be aware that full product flow through distribution may take one to two weeks from shipment.

As of Dec. 10, manufacturing of BP Cuffs continues to operate at 100% production and we are prioritizing our manufacturing operations based on SKU configurations of the highest demand, including less common configurations as capacity permits.

NEW: As we work to mitigate the impact of this issue for customers and patients, we are pleased to share that we are moving forward with our capacity expansion plan, including diversification of our manufacturing locations. The capital equipment investments made to accelerate backlog recovery will be installed in the U.S. We will continue to meet the needs of our customers through our manufacturing facilities in Mexico, with the added location in the U.S. coming online in early 2025.

Supply: We are currently navigating unnaturally high order volumes, and working to achieve an equitable, efficient and responsible distribution of available supply. We have made significant capital investments to accelerate the backlog reduction and lead time normalization of our high-demand BP Cuffs.

To help support our customers' ability to plan for patient care, Baxter has shared its expectations for production and increases in allocation levels with customers and distributors in the U.S. On Nov. 18, Baxter increased allocation guidance to 60% for certain product categories, an increase from previously communicated guidance of 40% allocation on Nov. 11 and 20% allocation on Oct. 23. Allocation continues to remain in place for a subset of SKUs, while others are improved or removed from allocation entirely. Current category-level allocation guidance, along with a list of SKUs per category, can be found below.

NEW: Current allocation guidance by category as of Dec. 10 can be found in the link below.

Current category guidance and lists of SKUs

Clinical resources: On Oct. 23, Baxter communicated recommended conservation measures to address the temporary supply constraint, including cleaning considerations. Resources to support this effort can be found below.

Flexiport Disposable Blood Pressure Cuffs Instructions for Use

FlexiPort Reusable Blood Pressure Cuffs Instructions for Use

CDC Recommendations for Disinfection and Sterilization in Healthcare Facilities

If you have further clinical questions, contact Baxter Medical Affairs: [email protected].

Previous Updates

Dec. 4, 2024 Update