Evening star., 1962-08-31
Audit Questions
Costs
Many Patients
May Be Able to
Pay for Care
BY WILLIAM GRIGG
Star Staff Writer


the finances of $500 long
term patients at St. Elizabeths
Hospital. an audit report
showed today.
This may mean, the auditor
said, that the District is need
lessly paying for the treat
ment of many mental patients
who can pay for their own
treatment.
The costs per patient are
about SO a day.
The audit officer recon-
mended that the Health De-
partment review a sample of
these cases to determine if a
full review would be productive.
The District Commissioners
have now ordered this sample
review.
S91,619 Drug Shortage
The Districts internal audit
office has also found that Dis
trict General Hospital cannot
account for S9l,619 worth of
drugs and that procedures
there tend to invite the steal
ing of valuable-and easily re-
sellable-antibiotics anj other
preparations.
And a third audit has shown
that the Districts Lorton Re-
formatory possesses and has
probably used old drugs unfit
for human consumption"
The drugs unaccounted for
at the hospital during a 13-
month period ending August /.
would be worth $l42, ,295 whole
sale and S217,418 retail.
AS revealed in the District
General Hospital audit, phar-
macy records there have no
adequate receipt procedure
that would prevent drugs from
being stolen between the main
pharmacy and their intended
use in the wards of the hospi-
tai.
Rules Violated
Further, drug samples were
stored in the pharmacy along
with regular drugs. a Violation
Of the hospitals own rules.
The amazed auditor saic
You could walk in and TAX
drugs out Of there and no on
would ever know who tool
them" A copy Of the audit re-
: port was sent to District police
who have been bathering in.
formation on the apparent
stealing of hospital drugs fol
resale by area druggists.
Other drug losses are likely,
but the audit office checked
only 16 expensive and readily
resellable drugs: Chloromy-
cetin, Chloromycetin Succina-
tase, Delomycin, Equanil, Fry
thocin. Librium, Orinase, Tet-
racyn. Pyridium, Pro-Banthine,
Premarin, Diamox, Dilantin.
Gantrisin. Tetracyn and Esd
riX.
The hospital has asked Con-
gress for expensive electronic
machinery to help keep track
of drugs - but the auditor
found procedures that could be
quickly corrected before these
machines become available. if.
indeed, they do.
Suggests Receipts
The simple notation of drug
records to show when and to
which wards drugs were sent.
a C com mpanied by similarly
marked receipts would tighten
much of the pharmacy'S loose
ness, the auditor found. The
violation of the hospitals own
rules on the storage of samples
could be simply corrected also.
The auditS were prepared un-
der the direction of District
audit officer Frank M. Hally.
The Commissioners also ap-
proved an auditors recon-
mendation that Director of Cor
rectionS Donald Clemmer take
action on the auditors findings
at Lorton.
Aided by a District specialist
in drugs, the audit office sur
veyed the use Of narcotics and
dangerous drugs at the refor-
matory and found quantities of
morphine Sulfate, Demerol and
Empirin that were deteriorat-
ing and unfit for use. The
quantities of drugs involved,
however Uyern small