The VA lost $1.1 million worth of pharmaceuticals in 2019 due to inappropriate storage temperatures. Image: ABB Photo
By: FEDweek StaffThe VA loses only a “comparatively minimal” amount of pharmaceuticals to spoilage due to incorrect refrigeration but can still do more to reduce losses, an IG report has said.
The IG noted that the VA in early 2019 reported a $1.1 million loss because medical facilities failed to maintain appropriate storage temperatures for refrigerated pharmaceuticals, leading to a series of directives to clarify procedures and responsibilities in the area. Proper refrigeration became an additional concern in early 2021, it said, as the VA began widely administering to its own employees and veterans Coronavirus vaccine that required medical grade cold storage.
The IG found that medical facilities “generally implemented and maintained requirements for safely storing refrigerated pharmaceuticals. For example, during the audit period, most medical facilities reported using electronic monitoring systems with software alerts for temperature excursions, and most medical facilities reported using, or being in the process of acquiring, pharmaceutical-grade purpose-built refrigerators and freezers.”
“Some refrigerated pharmaceutical loss is expected, and VA medical facilities reported about $1.7 million in such losses for fiscal year 2021 out of about $1.4 billion spent on these kinds of drugs, a figure the OIG acknowledges is comparatively minimal,” the report said. However, it pointed out that 77 of the 141 facilities examined experienced at least one instance of a refrigerated pharmaceutical loss in 2021 and said that the losses likely are under-reported because of “inconsistent guidance regarding what kind of loss to report and a lack of compliance with these requirements.”
The report recommended greater attention to configuring, testing and responding to alerts of monitoring systems updating guidance on reporting losses. VA management generally agreed and said it already has taken some of those steps.
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