Medication Management (MM) (Nursing Care Center / Nursing Care Center)
Multi-Dose Vials - Definition
Modify | April 11, 2016
What types of vials are considered to be “multi-dose?'
According to Safe Injection Practices Coalition (2010): A multi-dose vial is a bottle of liquid medication (injectable) that contains more than one dose of medication and is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use on multiple persons. A new, sterile needle and syringe should always be used to access the medication in a multi-dose vial. The reuse of needles or syringes to access multi-dose vial medication can result in contamination of the medicine with microbes that can be spread to others when the medicine is used again.
While there is not a specific Joint Commission standard that prohibits the use of multi-dose vials for more than one patient, organizations must comply with the original product manufacturer’s intended use. For example:
• Single dose/single patient use
• Multi-dose/single patient use
• Multi-dose/multi-patient use
Policies, procedures and practices regarding the use of multi-dose vials should incorporate evidence-based practices, such as those published by the CDC (Safe Practices for Medical Injections) and the Safe Injection Practices as developed by the “One and Only Campaign”. Links to additional resources are provided below.
Additional Resources:
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention websites:
Was this response helpful?
Thank you for your feedback!