Thai Officials Take Action On Missing Hospital Drugs

[webfact]

Officials take action on missing hospital drugs

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- Authorities are taking action against those involved in the embezzlement of medicines containing pseudoephedrine from state hospitals amid concerns that the medications might be used to produce methamphetamine.

In Udon Thani, police are trying to track down Somchai sae Khow, a 41-year-old pharmacist based at Udon Thani Hospital.

He is accused of embezzling 65,000 pseudoephedrine-containing tablets from the hospital.

Somchai has been on the run since the alleged embezzlement came to light. The Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) ordered the seizure of Bt7 million cash in Somchai's bank account, as well as his car.

"We have found that he has also held shares in Udon Thani Hospital's Co-operative, and they are worth more than Bt3 million," Udon Thani police station superintendent Colonel Kowit Jarernwattanasak said yesterday.

Somchai Bhaesaj pharmacy, which was established by Somchai, remains open. His mother owns and operates the shop.

Asked where her son was, she said: "I don't know. But I believe he will turn himself in to police for sure."

The mother said her son should not be held solely responsible for all the missing medicines, as she believed other people were involved.

According to Kowit, Udon Thani Hospital reported that more than 37.6 million pseudoephedrine-containing tablets had gone missing during the past three years.

"More officials will be summoned for questioning," Kowit said.

Meanwhile, Kalasin Governor Somsak Suwansujarit instructed police and public-health officials to pursue seriously those involved in embezzling medicine.

"If officials are found guilty, their punishment will be harsher" than what other convicts would face, Somsak said.

He was speaking after an investigation revealed that up to 356,535 Actifed tablets went missing from Kamalasai Hospital. Actifed is a cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine.

"Each tablet can be used to produce three or four tablets of methamphetamine or [a quantity of] crystal meth," Kalasin public-health chief Dr Pisit Uawongkoon said.

He said that apart from Actifed, some other medicines had also gone missing from the hospital.

"I have launched a probe against three officials, all of whom have been transferred out of the hospital," Pisit said.

Kalasin police chief Pol Maj-General Kanisorn Noynart said evidence clearly suggested that officials responsible for medicine inventory must have been involved.

"But we have to determine which ones," he said. "Financial transactions of suspects will be cross-checked."

He said the National Police Office and ONCB would be asked to investigate the case jointly.

-- The Nation 2012-03-17

[MEL1]

Incredible, isn't it? These missing tablets stories have only recently come to light and yet, in all reality, this has probably been going on for donkeys years!

One hospital, in Udon, has '37million' tablets missing in 3 years. Now why would one hospital have a need to prescribe, and issue, that many tablets, for flu (sudafed - to be accurate), over 3 years anyway? That's a mighty potential issue for 'one' hospital amongst many.

Sudafed (which pseudoephedrine is obtained from), is a maximum dosage of 4 tabs per day, and a max of 7 days of taking. So that's 28 tabs per patient - with flu. 37M / 28 = 1,321,428 patients over 3 years = 433,000+ patients per year. If one hospital has nearly half a million patients I would be very highly surprised.

So, in essence, the people who are in control of persons' health; pharmacists and their management; have been creaming millions of baht to supply the Class A drug industry. How sad, and how shocking.

And to add, my figures above are just one hospital's example, where we see that a not so well normally paid pharmacist has 7M baht in the bank, ignoring his mentors' gains.

TIT so I need to get over it! But why should I? The people in control of other's health are responsible in large part for the drug addictions and drug supplies of crystal meth, hindering many in the Esan lands and probably most other parts of Th where meth addiction, and what goes with it, is rife. All for the love of money.

-mel.

Edited March 17, 2012 by MEL1

[anterian]

Incredible, isn't it? These missing tablets stories have only recently come to light and yet, in all reality, this has probably been going on for donkeys years!

One hospital, in Udon, has '37million' tablets missing in 3 years. Now why would one hospital have a need to prescribe, and issue, that many tablets, for flu (sudafed - to be accurate), over 3 years anyway? That's a mighty potential issue for 'one' hospital amongst many.

Sudafed (which pseudoephedrine is obtained from), is a maximum dosage of 4 tabs per day, and a max of 7 days of taking. So that's 28 tabs per patient - with flu. 37M / 28 = 1,321,428 patients over 3 years = 433,000+ patients per year. If one hospital has nearly half a million patients I would be very highly surprised.

So, in essence, the people who are in control of persons' health; pharmacists and their management; have been creaming millions of baht to supply the Class A drug industry. How sad, and how shocking.

And to add, my figures above are just one hospital's example, where we see that a not so well normally paid pharmacist has 7M baht in the bank, ignoring his mentors' gains.

TIT so I need to get over it! But why should I? The people in control of other's health are responsible in large part for the drug addictions and drug supplies of crystal meth, hindering many in the Esan lands and probably most other parts of Th where meth addiction, and what goes with it, is rife. All for the love of money.

-mel.

All well and good, but as a long time sufferer of chronic sinusitis, actifed is the only thing that can give me a good night's sleep. There should be a way to legitimately use this medicine, not a blanket ban.

[DoctorG]

Obviously an independant audit was never done.

[allan michaud]

"If officials are found guilty, their punishment will be harsher" than what other convicts would face, Somsak said.

I can't help thinking he should have continued on to say "...assuming they are not high ranking or well connected individuals, in which case we will gloss over their involvement and nail some meaningless underling instead."

[Honkytowner]

I don't understand why people go to such lengths and risk prosecution to obtain manufactured pseudoephedrine tablets when ephedrine in the form of the medicinal herb Ma Huang can be cheaply and legally obtained in bulk from any Chinese herbalist. Go figure.

Edited March 17, 2012 by Honkytowner

[chrisinth]

Incredible, isn't it? These missing tablets stories have only recently come to light and yet, in all reality, this has probably been going on for donkeys years!

One hospital, in Udon, has '37million' tablets missing in 3 years. Now why would one hospital have a need to prescribe, and issue, that many tablets, for flu (sudafed - to be accurate), over 3 years anyway? That's a mighty potential issue for 'one' hospital amongst many.

Sudafed (which pseudoephedrine is obtained from), is a maximum dosage of 4 tabs per day, and a max of 7 days of taking. So that's 28 tabs per patient - with flu. 37M / 28 = 1,321,428 patients over 3 years = 433,000+ patients per year. If one hospital has nearly half a million patients I would be very highly surprised.

So, in essence, the people who are in control of persons' health; pharmacists and their management; have been creaming millions of baht to supply the Class A drug industry. How sad, and how shocking.

And to add, my figures above are just one hospital's example, where we see that a not so well normally paid pharmacist has 7M baht in the bank, ignoring his mentors' gains.

TIT so I need to get over it! But why should I? The people in control of other's health are responsible in large part for the drug addictions and drug supplies of crystal meth, hindering many in the Esan lands and probably most other parts of Th where meth addiction, and what goes with it, is rife. All for the love of money.

-mel.

Mel, your figures are based only on the missing drugs; thats 433,000+ missing patients. Would be interesting to see the actual prescribed records from the hospital.

[MEL1]

Incredible, isn't it? These missing tablets stories have only recently come to light and yet, in all reality, this has probably been going on for donkeys years!

One hospital, in Udon, has '37million' tablets missing in 3 years. Now why would one hospital have a need to prescribe, and issue, that many tablets, for flu (sudafed - to be accurate), over 3 years anyway? That's a mighty potential issue for 'one' hospital amongst many.

Sudafed (which pseudoephedrine is obtained from), is a maximum dosage of 4 tabs per day, and a max of 7 days of taking. So that's 28 tabs per patient - with flu. 37M / 28 = 1,321,428 patients over 3 years = 433,000+ patients per year. If one hospital has nearly half a million patients I would be very highly surprised.

So, in essence, the people who are in control of persons' health; pharmacists and their management; have been creaming millions of baht to supply the Class A drug industry. How sad, and how shocking.

And to add, my figures above are just one hospital's example, where we see that a not so well normally paid pharmacist has 7M baht in the bank, ignoring his mentors' gains.

TIT so I need to get over it! But why should I? The people in control of other's health are responsible in large part for the drug addictions and drug supplies of crystal meth, hindering many in the Esan lands and probably most other parts of Th where meth addiction, and what goes with it, is rife. All for the love of money.

-mel.

All well and good, but as a long time sufferer of chronic sinusitis, actifed is the only thing that can give me a good night's sleep. There should be a way to legitimately use this medicine, not a blanket ban.

I agree with you absolutely, and wasn't calling for a 'blanket' ban, as these tabs are genuinely needed for medicinal uses, such as your own needs.

It's the systems of audit that are at fault, as the above post contains. It appears that hospitals can order bulks of multi-millions without being monitored, or until recently anyway.

Let's hope these investigations trigger self-audits, and fear-mongering, amongst the abusers at the hospitals which indulge.

-mel.