By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-957202.mp3
LANSING, MI –
A government audit says state prisons are spending a lot more on prescriptions than they have to - and that the state does a poor job of tracking medications in prisons. As we hear from Michigan Public Radio's Rick Pluta, in some cases, medicines have disappeared from dispensaries.
AUDIO:
The auditor general report says prison officials were warned as far back as five years ago there were problems in the system. The new audit says the state could be spending millions of dollars a year more than it has to on one of the most commonly prescribed psychiatric medications. It also says medications are not always administered according to the rules, and, in some cases, drugs simply disappear from dispensaries.
The department does not dispute the findings, and corrections spokesman Russ Marlan says an investigation is underway.
"When auditors find things that you can do better and bring them to your attention, that's a good thing," he says.
Marlan says some new procedures are already in place to control medication costs. Corrections spending is one of the biggest budget pressures contributing to a $1.5 billion deficit.