The White House pharmacy under the Trump administration violated federal regulations by doling out prescription pills, including stimulants and sedatives, to ineligible staff without keeping proper records, according to a scathing government report released this month.
“Serious and systemic problems” were found in “all phases of the White House Medical Unit’s pharmaceutical operations,” the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General concluded.
“Nothing that occurred at the White House Clinic was ever written down, ever recorded,” said one witness interviewed for the 80-page DOD report. “The only record we had of a patient coming in and receiving any type of medication would have been if it was a controlled substance that we had to document for the pharmacy.”
But even when it came to controlled substances (drugs with potential for abuse and physical dependence), the White House Medical Unit issued prescriptions that “often lacked the medical provider and patient information required by law.” [Drug Enforcement Agency] policy.”
According to the government report, “serious and systemic problems” were found in “all phases of the White House Medical Unit’s pharmaceutical operations.” White House Medical Unit The White House Medical Unit often incorrectly filled prescriptions for controlled medications, such as Ambien and Provigil. White House Medical Unit
“The White House Medical Unit dispensed non-emergency controlled medications, such as Ambien and Provigil, without verifying the patient’s identity,” the report states, referring to the sedative used to treat insomnia and the stimulant prescribed for narcolepsy and sleep apnea, respectively.
An order form included in the inspector general’s report shows that the White House pharmacy ordered thousands of these drugs and routinely requested brand-name drugs despite regulations requiring pharmacies to stock cheaper generic equivalents.
Between 2017 and 2019, the White House Medical Unit spent an estimated $46,500 on brand-name Ambien, which is 174 times more expensive than the generic equivalent.
During the same three-year period, the unit also spent approximately $98,000 on brand-name Provigil, which is 55 times more expensive than the generic equivalent.
The watchdog agency concluded that White House pharmacy staff had little or no supervision and that their prescribing practices put the health and safety of patients at risk.
A witness told the DOD IG that senior staff assistants often came to pick up his pills. The Department of Defense OIG
One witness explained to investigators that part of his duties at “the president’s clinic” would be to package controlled drugs in ziplock bags before his trips abroad, which would typically be picked up by assistants to senior officials, in violation of military guidelines. . .
“So, we typically made these packets of Ambien and Provigil, and a lot of times they were five tablets in a zip-lock bag,” the witness said. “And that’s why, traditionally, we also distributed them. . . . But many times senior staff or representatives of their staff came. . . He would stop by the residence clinic to pick him up. And it was very much a, hey, I’m here to pick this up for Mrs.
Another witness described a case in which drugs were given to a White House official as a “parting gift.”
“Dr. [X] “I asked if I could hook this person up with some Provigil as a parting gift for leaving the White House,” they said. “And at that time, the members of the medical corps and the doctors, the enlisted members of the medical corps and the doctors, [said] “It was okay for us to dispense Provigil and Ambien without having a supplier present.”
“I’m not sure if it was okay as far as what’s medically allowed. But in the unit he was authorized to do that type of thing,” the witness added.
The DOD IG report examined White House pharmacy practices between 2017 and 2019, when former President Donald Trump was in office. AFP/Getty Images The White House Medical Unit provided “free medical care” to many more patients who were eligible. REUTERS
The investigation found that the White House Medical Unit provided “free health care to ineligible White House staff” by instituting a practice of “health care by proxy,” which included dispensing controlled medications to ineligible staff “in violation of federal laws and regulations and Department of Defense policy.” .”
According to the report, about 6,000 White House employees, contractors and government employees received “health care by proxy” at White House clinics.
By comparison, only about 60 patients were enrolled in the White House Medical Unit, which the report said is intended to “serve the needs” of only the “most senior officials appointed by the president.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn