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The right glove for the right job at the right price:
Hospitals may be breathing a small, albeit possibly temporary, sigh of relief as cost increases for medical gloves seem to have slowed.
"After a very volatile year in 2008, the market has already begun to stabilize," commented Poyee Tai, executive vice president, Tronex Industries. "In October 2008, declines in raw materials and freight costs should contribute to a decrease in the cost of gloves by the end of the 1st quarter in 2009."
"The biggest variable impacting exam glove pricing is the decline in cost of the raw materials used to manufacture gloves," remarked Judson Boothe, marketing director of medical supplies, Kimberly-Clark Health Care. "The decrease in cost of raw materials has varied by glove material type, with the largest decreases seen in vinyl and latex gloves."
Tugging prices upward, however, said Tai, "medical glove production will feel the effects of stricter FDA standards that took effect December 19, 2008. The new FDA ruling tightens the acceptable quality levels (AQL) from the previous 2.5 for surgical grade gloves and 4.0 for examination grade gloves to 1.5 and 2.5 respectively. This measure harmonizes AQL's for pinholes and defects with consensus standards developed by International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and ASTM International. The tightening of FDA standards has made manufacturers implement more stringent quality control and has increased manufacture costs and decreased the supply of disposable gloves. Prior to the FDA changing their standards, Tronex's full line of exam gloves had already met the AQL level of 1.5," Tai noted.
"Glove manufacturers and distributors risk their products not being admitted into the U.S. marketplace or not considered appropriate for healthcare use if their gloves cannot meet these higher quality levels now required by the FDA," said Boothe. "Kimberly-Clark gloves are currently at AQL levels far exceeding industry norms. Our exam gloves are produced at a higher standard than specified by FDA."
Also affecting glove supplies and pricing, in July 2008, Hong Ray, the world's largest manufacturer of vinyl exam gloves, declared force majeure conditions saying it was unable to meet its normal customer agreements. Among the many factors cited as leading to production shortfalls, shipping delays and price increases, were a fire at a major...