The Veteran Prescription Safety Improvement Act expands the Department of Veterans Affairs' access to state prescription drug monitoring programs, which track controlled substance prescriptions to help prevent drug abuse and misuse. The bill allows VA health care providers, including pharmacists and other licensed medical staff, to check these monitoring programs when veterans request prescriptions for controlled substances, helping doctors identify potential substance abuse issues before filling prescriptions. The legislation requires the VA Secretary to issue guidance on best practices for checking these monitoring programs and to provide annual training to pharmacy personnel within one year of the bill's enactment. The bill also clarifies the VA's authority to share veteran information with state prescription drug monitoring programs as permitted under federal health privacy law. This measure aims to improve prescription safety for veterans while reducing the risk of prescription drug misuse within the VA health system.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.