A recent Defense Department inspector general report revealed that the White House Medical Unit during the Trump administration had improperly given out controlled substances, including to government employees who were not eligible for the service.
The report, released earlier this month, found the medical unit had “severe and systemic problems” with its pharmacy operations, which included the treatment of ineligible employees, prescriptions of controlled substances, and improper record housing of Schedule II drugs such as fentanyl, morphine, and oxycodone.
“Without oversight from qualified pharmacy staff, the White House Medical Unit’s pharmaceutical management practices may have been subject to prescribing errors and inadequate medication management, increasing the risk to the health and safety of patients treated within the unit,” the report read.
The report also found that the medical unit had spent thousands of unnecessary dollars on name-brand medication instead of the cheaper generic version. For example, the funds included $46,000 on Ambien, a sleeping medication that was “174 times” more expensive than a generic alternative, according to the report.
The report concluded a multiyear investigation into whether a senior military medical officer in the White House clinic had “engaged in improper medical practices” after the office received complaints in 2018.
The investigation included on-site visits and employee interviews that dated back to 2009, and it was primarily focused on a three-year period during former President Donald Trump’s tenure.
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The inspector general’s office outlined policy changes that could prevent the problems in the report from happening again. The changes included developing a pharmaceutical oversight plan for the White House Medical Unit, developing procedures for medication storage and prescribing and dispensing medication, and improving methods for confirming patient eligibility.
“We conducted this evaluation to ensure that the practices, procedures, and controls in executive medicine facilities in the National Capital Area led to safe pharmaceutical practices,” the department’s Inspector General Robert Storch said in a statement. “The recommendations in this report, if implemented, will improve and implement policies, procedures, and controls for executive medicine services and patients in the National Capital Region.”