Audit of the General Clinical Research Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for Fiscal Year Ending November 30, 1999

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The objective of our audit was to determine whether the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center had adequate internal controls to ensure its General Clinical Research Center was utilized in accordance with NIH guidelines and the activity was accurately reported. The BIDMC needs to improve its system of controls to ensure the GCRC is utilized in accordance with NIH guidelines. During grant year 1999, the GCRC did not have a sufficient level of research utilization and credit days to justify being funded as a discrete unit. In this respect, the BIDMC GCRC inpatient space was utilized only 40.6% for research while the outpatient space was utilized only 37.2% for research. This occurred because the BIDMC did not ensure that estimated patient activity levels were achieved and that grant costs were offset by service credits. Therefore, the GCRC was not operated in the most cost effective manner. It was determined that the GCRC would have been funded approximately $232,131 less in FY 1999, and $972,663 less in FY 2001, if the inpatient unit had been funded on a per diem basis, rather than the discrete method.

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