Thinking about taking a stab at IV therapy? Ask some questions first
[July 01, 2025]
By TOM MURPHY
IV therapy clinics are springing up around the country, touting quick
ways to recover from a hangover or a hard workout. But doctors and
regulators preach caution.
The services have been on a growth spurt since the COVID-19 pandemic,
offering drips that promise to boost energy, gird immune systems or
relieve joint pain. This is done from bags of intravenous fluids
normally seen hanging next to hospital beds.
Customers must be willing to fork over as much as couple hundred dollars
for each session — in some cases for a mixture of vitamins and
supplements that would be considerably cheaper in pill form.
Proponents say this approach helps customers hydrate faster and absorb
more of a vitamin or supplement than they would by swallowing pills.
But Dr. Sam Torbati, co-chair of emergency medicine at Cedars-Sinai
Medical Center in Los Angeles, says the therapy mostly helps people
create “expensive urine,” with the body clearing what it doesn't use.
How many IV clinics are there?
They’re hard to count, partly because some businesses just provide IV
therapy while others offer it as part of a medical spa.
The practice grew popular during COVID-19, when access to doctors became
limited and people grew more concerned about their immune system health,
according to the American IV Association, an industry group.
Regulators in Ohio are following the trend closely in their state, which
now has around 200 clinics. These businesses were largely unheard of
there before the pandemic, said Cameron McNamee, a spokesman for the
Ohio Board of Pharmacy.
What should customers know about IV therapy clinics?
Doctors say there are some good questions to pose before any treatment
starts.
Customers should ask the person starting the IV how long they have been
doing their job and what sort of training they have, said Torbati.
They also should know what’s in the IV drip. For instance, “Wonder
Juice” treatment offered by the Restore Hyper Wellness franchise
combines six vitamins and supplements that are available, in oral form,
on the pharmacy store shelves.
Knowing all the ingredients comes in handy if someone has an allergic
reaction.
Also ask where the company gets its drugs, if any are used. The answer
should be a licensed pharmaceutical wholesaler, according to McNamee.
Otherwise, the drug could be counterfeit or substandard. Ohio regulators
have suspended the licenses of businesses that purchased drugs on
Facebook.
Customers also should make sure the clinic is in decent shape when they
visit.
“If the office isn’t clean, then the IV room’s probably not clean
either,” McNamee said.
Why are regulators concerned?
They don’t like that a nurse or a paramedic often helps a customer
decide on an IV therapy and then delivers the treatment. Rules can vary,
but many state regulators say a doctor, physician assistant or nurse
practitioner should be involved.
[to top of second column]
|
A patient is hooked up to an IV for a hangover treatment in Las
Vegas on Sunday, April 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
 The clinics often run on standing
orders, which are issued by a doctor with the idea that they give
the nurse or paramedic permission to treat patients according to
certain protocols.
Hospital emergency rooms regularly operate on the same kind of
orders, according to Dr. Chris Seitz, an emergency physician and
chairman of the American IV Association's scientific advisory board.
“Many nurses saw patients before I ever could get to them in the
emergency department and initiated care like IV fluids,” he said.
Is there too much patient involvement?
Regulators also worry about the role customers play in picking their
own treatments.
“A patient cannot enter a doctor’s office or hospital and demand an
IV any more than a patient can direct his or her own appendectomy,”
Kentucky officials said in a March statement.
But Seitz says there should be a partnership between any care
provider and the patient, with the provider helping the patient make
the right decision.
“Patients have a requirement and a need to be the CEO of their own
health,” he said.
Patient choice feeds another worry: the mixing of ingredients for
specific treatments, a practice known as compounding.
South Carolina regulators said in a 2023 statement that this should
result from a valid care provider order, “not from a patient-driven
menu akin to a fast-food restaurant.”
However, proponents say the addition of vitamins or drugs to an IV
treatment should not be confused with mixing prescription drugs in a
lab.
“It’s just pretty simple low-hanging fruit in terms of clinical
complexity,” said Jeff Cohen, a co-founder of the American IV
Association.
What’s the big picture?
IV therapy clinics do provide some care. They can help cancer
patients or pregnant women stay hydrated. Some treatments offer
relief from migraine pain.
But many drips require the creation of a sterile, soluble vitamin or
supplement that is safe to put into someone's veins. That's more
expensive to make than a vitamin that may cost a few cents a pill,
Torbati noted.
Customers will need to determine whether the added expense is worth
it.
“Usually within eight hours, all that expensive therapy (is) peed
out,” he said.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
