Drug Provision:
During the Trump administration, the White House Medical Unit distributed prescription drugs, including controlled substances. The recipients included ineligible staff, as revealed by a Pentagon report. Tens of thousands of dollars were spent on brand-name drugs, exceeding the cost of generic equivalents.
No compliance with federal government and Department of Defence guidelines
During the Trump administration, the White House Medical Unit distributed prescription drugs, including controlled substances. The recipients included ineligible staff, as revealed by a Pentagon report. Tens of thousands of dollars were spent on brand-name drugs, exceeding the cost of generic equivalents.
Ineffective use of DoD funds
The White House Medical Unit’s pharmaceutical management practices were deemed ineffective in utilizing Department of Defense (DoD) funds. The unit opted for brand-name medications instead of more cost-effective generic equivalents, as indicated by the report.
This approach heightened the risk of diverting controlled substances, according to the report’s findings. The unit lacked effective controls to ensure compliance with safety standards, exposing patients to increased health and safety risks.
Notably, the unit operated without oversight from Military Health System leaders, further contributing to the identified risks, as mentioned in the report.
Unit Expenditure:
From 2017-2019, the White House Medical Unit spent $46,500 on 8,900 unit doses of Ambien, a brand name sleeping medication. This expenditure was 174 times more than the $270 cost of the generic equivalent for the same amount of doses. The unit also spent $98,000 on 4,180 unit doses of Provigil, a brand name stimulant, which was 55 times more than the $1,800 cost of the generic equivalent. Both Ambien and Provigil were distributed without verifying patient identities, as disclosed in the report. Opioids and sleeping medications were not adequately accounted for and were tracked using error-filled or unreadable handwritten records, according to the report’s findings.
Report Findings:
The Pentagon’s Office of the Inspector General conducted an investigation into the White House Medical Unit from September 2019 through February 2020. The inquiry was prompted by a complaint received in 2018, and it covered the period from 2009 to 2018, spanning both Barack Obama and Donald Trump’s administrations. The report primarily focuses on the years 2017-2019 when Donald Trump was president. The findings revealed issues related to prescription drug management and non-compliance with federal guidelines. Lester Martinez-Lopez, the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, concurred with all the recommendations outlined in the report in response to its findings.
