Military Health System Hearing: Opioid Management and Pain Treatment
January 1, 2019
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The Frame
The hearing addresses how the Department of Defense manages pain treatment and opioid access for service members, retirees, and their families, impacting the healthcare protocols and data-sharing requirements for military medical facilities.
Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.
Active Duty Service Members
They are subject to military pain management policies and opioid prescription guidelines.
TRICARE Beneficiaries
Their access to healthcare and the coordination of their prescription data between military and civilian providers is impacted by these policies.
Last recorded activity January 1, 2019.
Next step not available in the current record.
Summary
Key Facts
- The hearing was held on June 20, 2018, by the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
- The military has reduced prescription opioid abuse among Active Duty service members to 1 percent.
- The Department of Defense is working to balance cybersecurity and operational concerns with the need for data transparency in state prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs).
- The subcommittee is investigating how to improve pain management for service members, dependents, and retirees.
- The hearing addressed the challenge of coordinating care for TRICARE beneficiaries who access both military and non-military healthcare facilities.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the goal of this hearing?
How does the military share prescription data with states?
Why It Matters
The hearing addresses how the Department of Defense manages pain treatment and opioid access for service members, retirees, and their families, impacting the healthcare protocols and data-sharing requirements for military medical facilities.
News Coverage
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Shift to Alternative Pain Management
The military explicitly moved away from relying on prescription opioids as the primary treatment for wounded warriors, resulting in a 1% abuse rate among active duty personnel.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.govinfo.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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