As winter arrives with plummeting temperatures, people easily catch colds. For severe cases where oral medicine fails to work, doctors will recommend intravenous infusion therapy, commonly known as IV drip. So how exactly is an IV drip bag compounded?

I. What Is a Pharmacy Intravenous Admixture Service (PIVAS)?

1. Definition of PIVAS

Traditionally, intravenous infusions were prepared by nurses in treatment rooms. In modern hospitals, the Pharmacy Intravenous Admixture Service (PIVAS) has been established to improve the quality of finished IV infusions, ensure safe, effective, economical and appropriate clinical intravenous medication, and free nurses from tedious daily compounding work so they can devote more time to direct patient care.

Simply put, PIVAS centralizes the preparation and distribution of intravenous medications. Under physicians’ prescriptions or medication orders, pharmacy professionals first conduct clinical suitability reviews. Then pharmaceutical technical staff perform aseptic mixing and compounding of intravenous drugs in clean environments following strict sterile operation standards, producing finished infusions ready for direct clinical intravenous administration.

2. Advantages of Centralized Intravenous Medication Compounding

First, standardized compounding safeguards drug quality and infusion safety. Supported by rigorous preparation workflows and quality control systems, PIVAS minimizes risks of drug contamination and incompatible drug combinations, guaranteeing the safety and efficacy of all infusions.

Second, it streamlines pharmaceutical inventory management and reduces drug waste. It also relieves nurses of heavy compounding workloads to enhance the quality of clinical nursing care. Meanwhile, pharmacists fully leverage their professional expertise through multi-step processes including prescription review, dispensing and double-checking.

Third, PIVAS elevates occupational protection. Cytotoxic and other hazardous drugs are compounded under negative pressure, drastically lowering toxic exposure risks for medical staff and patients. PIVAS also creates a platform for pharmacists to participate in rational clinical medication, advancing the development of clinical pharmacy.

II. The Full Workflow of Preparing an IV Infusion Bag

1. PIVAS Layout & Medication Compounding Process

PIVAS is a relatively enclosed space with stringent cleanliness requirements, divided into three functional zones: clean area, controlled non-clean area and auxiliary service area. The compounding room meets Class 10,000 cleanliness standards, with horizontal laminar flow clean benches and biosafety cabinets as standard air purification equipment for all PIVAS facilities.

The full compounding workflow consists of six core steps:
1.    Medication Order Review: Pharmacists assess the rationality of each prescription, arrange medication administration sequences and print infusion labels.
2.    Labeling, Dispensing & Cross-Verification: Infusion bags are labeled, and corresponding drugs are sorted out per label. Double-person verification is mandatory at every stage; batches can only enter designated compounding rooms after full confirmation.
3.    Aseptic Mixing & Compounding: In dedicated compounding rooms, pharmacists conduct sterile drug mixing on horizontal laminar flow benches or biosafety cabinets to produce finished IV infusions.
4.    Finished Product Inspection: Pharmacists recheck the quality of completed infusions and authorize release for clinical use.
5.    Sorting & Packaging: Qualified IV bags are sorted by ward, sealed in locked packaging and delivered to clinical departments for patients.

 2. How AIRTECH Supports the Development of PIVAS

Suzhou AIRTECH Air Technology Co., Ltd. integrates R&D, manufacturing and sales, delivering comprehensive air purification solutions for all sectors. For decades, we have provided reliable services to medical institutions, drug regulatory authorities and drug testing laboratories, and supplied biosafety cabinets and clean benches for key national projects. Our products also played a vital role in combating the SARS and COVID-19 outbreaks.

As early as 1998, AIRTECH partnered with leading IV infusion manufacturers to supply matching biosafety cabinets and clean benches, earning widespread recognition from industrial partners and hospitals and laying the foundation for domestic PIVAS development. 

Over decades, we have maintained long-term cooperation with major large-volume infusion enterprises and engineering companies, supplying products and services to more than 200 hospital PIVAS nationwide with consistent positive feedback.

AIRTECH’s specially customized Class II biosafety cabinets and horizontal laminar flow clean benches for PIVAS deliver ISO Class 5 (Class 100) or higher sterile operation environments in compounding zones, while featuring easy cleaning and disinfection. Optional accessories including hanging rods, built-in scanning modules, internal monitoring & display screens and remote control functions facilitate data archiving and full-process traceability for simpler operation.

PIVAS is far more than a drug transit hub — it is a guardian of medical safety. Every focused gaze and precise manipulation by pharmacists embodies profound respect for human life. As a leading manufacturer of clean benches and biosafety cabinets in the air purification industry, AIRTECH will forge ahead continuously to deliver better solutions for PIVAS operations in the future.