FCA-2013-8151

The results of our audit disclosed deficiencies in internal control and/or instances of noncompliance or other matters that are considered reportable under Government Auditing Standards. These items included: The North Carolina Board of Pharmacy (Board) does not inspect all pharmacies on a regular basis. The failure to regularly inspect pharmacies increases the risk of problems and violations that could threaten public health and safety. Three factors contribute to the lack of pharmacy inspections in North Carolina: First, no state law requires regular pharmacy inspections and the Board has not established a policy mandating how often pharmacies should be inspected. Second, while the Board maintained lists for routine inspections and lists for inspections completed as part of an investigation, these lists were not used to produce monitoring reports to readily identify pharmacies that had not been inspected within a given time frame. Such monitoring is necessary to ensure all pharmacies are regularly inspected to protect public health and safety. Third, the Board has a small number of inspectors available to perform inspections. Based on Board records, 35% of pharmacies have not been inspected in four or more years. About 21% were not inspected in the past 6 years or more. Details about the item are provided in the Audit Findings and Responses section of the report.