There are “terrible controls” in the administration of medicines in the Social Security Fund (CSS), which led to the loss of thousands of doses of fentanyl a highly dangerous and addictive drug said Attorney General Javier Caraballo on Monday, February 5.

The inconsistencies and deficiencies in the audits of the CSS) specifically in the case of the loss of fentanyl, have led to a new investigation by the Attorney General's Office, which has so far been able to validate that in the entity there are terrible administrative controls.

Caraballo announced that his office is leading two investigations related to the disappearance of the fentanyl doses.

Caraballo answered several questions that deputies of the Credentials Commission of the National Assembly asked him in a summons to consider his ratification of the post.

The official said that although these are ongoing investigations, it has become clear to them that the case is based on an “extremely flawed” audit.

He spoke of inconsistencies between what the CSS says, those that were lost, and the prescriptions that are managed in the system.

“In many cases, doctors withdrew fentanyl and no prescriptions were requested. There are other cases in which doctors asked for prescriptions and did not use them.”

He said the Attorney General's Office has had to re-audit the entire process. “That has not been fast. We consider that in the coming months, we will be able to respond to the community,” said Caraballo.

Last year, the loss of 19 thousand vials of fentanyl was reported at the Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid Hospital Complex of the CSS.

Internal investigations by the CSS indicated that numerous requests were made for fentanyl vials prescribed for the same patient, as well as the lack of control of the keys where the controlled medications were kept, among others.

No problem in Panama
“What we can say is that Panama does not have a fentanyl problem,” said Caraballo, who mentioned the epidemic in the United States as a reference, in areas where about five deaths are reported daily due to addiction to the drug, while in Panama has not reported any deaths.

“If that happened in Panama, it would be noticeable in the streets. And there are no reports of consumption or deaths,” he reiterated.

Authorities also have not been able to determine whether the doses that disappeared were sent to the United States market or elsewhere.