A scathing government report released this month found that the White House Pharmacy under the Trump administration ignored federal regulations and dispensed prescription drugs, including stimulants and sedatives, to unqualified employees without proper records. It was being distributed.
The Pentagon's Office of Inspector General said it found “serious and systemic problems” in “all phases of the White House Medical Corps' pharmacy operations.”
“Everything that happened at the White House Clinic was never written down, never recorded,” said one witness interviewed by the Pentagon. 80 page report Said. “The only record of a patient coming in and receiving any medication would be if it was a controlled substance, which would have to be documented with the pharmacy.”
But even when dealing with controlled substances (drugs with potential for abuse or physical dependence), prescriptions written by the White House medical department “often did not require provider or patient information.” ” [Drug Enforcement Agency] policy. ”
The report mentions sedatives used to treat insomnia and stimulants prescribed for narcolepsy and sleep apnea, respectively, and says, “The White House Medical Unit was unable to administer Ambience without verifying the patient's identity.'' “We dispensed non-emergency medications such as Provigil and Provigil.”
The White House Pharmacy orders thousands of these drugs and routinely sells brand-name drugs despite regulations requiring pharmacies to stock cheaper generic equivalents, according to a solicitation included in the inspector general's report. It is shown that he was requesting medication.
From 2017 to 2019, the White House Medical Office spent an estimated $46,500 on brand-name Ambien, 174 times the price of its generic equivalent.
Over the same three-year period, the department spent an estimated $98,000 on brand-name Provigil, which is 55 times more expensive than its generic equivalent.
The watchdog concluded that the White House pharmacy staff had little oversight and that their prescribing practices jeopardized patient health and safety.
One witness told investigators that part of their job at the “President's Clinic” was to pre-pack controlled substances into Ziploc bags in advance of international travel, a violation of military guidance. He explained that close aides to high-ranking officials would receive it on a daily basis. .
“So we would usually make these packets of Ambien and Provigil, and a lot of times there would be about five pills in a Ziploc bag,” the witness said. “And traditionally, we've given these out. . . . But a lot of times, senior staff or a representative of that staff will come and pick them up at the residence clinic. And , it was just, “Hey, I came to pick this up for Mr. X, and the expectation was to just go ahead and give it away.”
Another witness described one instance in which drugs were given to a White House staffer as a “parting gift.”
“Dr. [X] “As a farewell gift for leaving the White House, I asked this person if I could give him some Provigil,” they said. “And at that time, the soldiers, the medics, the non-commissioned officers, the medics, [said] I had no problem dispensing Provigil and Ambien without a health care provider present. ”
“I don't know if that was okay, as long as it was medically cleared. But they were allowed to do things like that in the unit,” the witness added.
The investigation found that the White House Medical Office “in violation of federal laws and regulations and Department of Defense policy by implementing “medicine by proxy'' practices, which involve dispensing controlled substances to unqualified personnel. It turned out that he was providing free medical care to White House staff. ”
Approximately 6,000 White House staff, contractors and government employees received “surrogate medical care” at the White House clinic, the report said.
By comparison, the White House medical unit had only about 60 patients registered. The report notes that the medical unit is intended to “serve the needs” only of “the highest-ranking presidential appointees.”
