10 Enforcement Services & On-Going
Category: Programs - Service Reductions (FTEs-Layoffs)
Item Comment: If the agency’s budget were reduced by an additional 5%, the Enforcement Division would be forced to eliminate 2 Compliance Officer positions,
which would reduce the number of field inspectors from 7 to 5. This reduction would result in 33% fewer pharmacies being inspected each year. The number of
annual inspections would fall from 1,800 to 1,200. TSBP licenses 6,476 pharmacies located in Texas. The field staff’s geographical regions are extremely large. If
2 field staff were eliminated, the geographical regions would be required to be further enlarged, which in turn, would mean more travel, fewer inspections, & higher
costs per inspection. TSBP needs more inspectors, not less.
Inspections are a key component to the agency’s preventative enforcement activities. The Board is convinced that a strong & active inspection program is
cost-effective because it increases compliance, which in turn, decreases the need to conduct more expensive enforcement activities (e.g., field investigations &
disciplinary action).