Auditor finds county health pharmacies still lack copay verification check

DHS set wait-time targets for its pharmacies but has not built a process to confirm copays are collected before medication is handed out.

Board of Supervisors· posted Jul 27Report

County hospital and clinic pharmacies now have performance targets, including an average of ten minutes to be seen and 45 minutes for medication pickup. The Auditor-Controller found the Department of Health Services has not yet created a check that staff collect prescription copays before dispensing, and DHS plans to do so by the second quarter of 2027.

What happens next

The outstanding recommendation will be tracked in the biannual list of outstanding audit recommendations until DHS certifies it is implemented.

Hall of Administration
Hall of Administration

Photo: Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

More in Health & Social Services

  1. Hall of Administration

    Jail oversight commission to hear NAMI presentation on mental illness in justice system

    Mark Gale is set to brief the Sybil Brand Commission on the mental health group's work with people in county jails.

  2. Los Angeles General Medical Center

    Auditor finds shared credit cards and missing receipts at four county health facilities

    Review of $86,000 in Health Services card spending found cards issued to units rather than individuals, and purchases over county limits.

  3. Hall of Administration

    Auditor finds Public Health has not fully fixed gift card controls

    Of six recommendations from a 2025 review, the county says five are partly done and one is not started.

  4. Hall of Administration

    Auditor finds gaps in Health Services oversight of its charitable foundations

    County employees sat on three foundation boards without required Board approval; DHS agreed to fix eight findings.

    Board of Supervisors··$3.1M