VA Anti-Opioid Efforts Lacking, GAO Finds

Veterans Health Administration officials are still not routinely checking records before writing opioid prescriptions, not regularly testing patients to make sure the drugs are being used properly and not properly securing informed consent before putting veterans on long-term opioid programs, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Of the five VA health centers selected for audits, four did not have a “pain champion” — a primary care position required by the administration to help providers adhere to opioid risk mitigation and not all centers had access to a program in which trained clinical pharmacists work one-on-one with providers to better inform them about evidence based care, the 44-page report states.

“To the extent that these factors affect all VHA facilities, VHA will continue to face challenges ensuring that its providers prescribe opioids in a safe and effective manner,” GAO reported.