Congress Probes VA Painkiller Prescribing - MedPage Today

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill hammered the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for the way it handles pain management in patients during a hearing Thursday on the topic.Rep. Dan Benishek, MD (R-Mich.), chair of the House Veterans Affairs Health Subcommittee, questioned the VA's pain management approach, which places primary care providers at the center of care teams."As I know from personal experience, the multifaceted nature of chronic pain, particularly when multiple medications are being prescribed, should not be managed by primary care physicians but rather by a qualified pain specialist who is trained to understand the complexities of treating these conditions," said Benishek, a general surgeon who has worked part time at the Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center in Iron Mountain, Mich., for 20 years.Thursday's hearing drew tears from widows of veterans who died from prescription drug overdoses and others who have worked in and navigated the VA system as physicians and patients.Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), chair of the full House Veterans Affairs Committee, said the VA must curtail its reliance on painkillers.The number of patients treated by the VA is up 29% in the last 11 years, while narcotics prescriptions written by VA providers are up 259%, the House committee said. VA prescriptions for hydrocodone, oxycodone, methadone, and morphine have risen 270% in the last 12 years.Additionally, as many as 60% of veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan report some fo...
Source: Psychology of Pain - Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs