Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA) called on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to share prescription drug information with a state database that tracks prescriptions for patients outside the VA. The state-based program, known as a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, helps prevent the accidental or intentional misuse of prescription drugs. The entire Massachusetts Congressional delegation signed Moulton’s letter sent today to VA Secretary Robert A. McDonald.
“[T]he heroin and prescription drug crisis has reached epidemic proportions in Massachusetts and many other states across the country,†Moulton and the delegation wrote. “The problem is particularly severe in the veteran community, which has a higher rate of prescription drug abuse than the general population.â€
Due to minor differences in the state and federal databases, the VA does not currently share information with the Commonwealth. The agency told Moulton it would begin operational testing on information sharing in April 2016. Give the severity of the prescription drug crisis in Massachusetts, Moulton is calling on the VA to escalate this timeline.
“The heroin and prescription drug crisis in Massachusetts is a true public health emergency that is impacting every community in our Commonwealth. We strongly urge you to escalate the timeline for completing full deployment of this program in Massachusetts,†the lawmakers wrote.
The text of the letter is below:
Dear Secretary McDonald:
Thank you for your dedicated service to our country and your continuing work to care for our veterans.
As you may know, the heroin and prescription drug crisis has reached epidemic proportions in Massachusetts and many other states across the country. According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, there were more than 1000 opioid-related deaths in the state last year alone. This year, we have already seen a marked increase in deaths from overdosing. The problem is particularly severe in the veteran community, which has a higher rate of prescription drug abuse than the general population. We need to use every tool at our disposal to fight this epidemic that is crippling our communities.
Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) are a critical tool in this fight. Because PDMPs are state-run databases, VA pharmacies and other federal prescribers are not always able to seamlessly share patient information with PDMPs in order to help prevent the accidental or intentional misuse of prescription drugs. It is our understanding that the VA’s State Prescription Drug Monitoring Program deployment, which coordinates VA and federal-prescriber access to PDMPs, is complete in 30 states, and that the VA plans to begin operational testing in Massachusetts in April 2016.
The heroin and prescription drug crisis in Massachusetts is a true public health emergency that is impacting every community in our Commonwealth. We strongly urge you to escalate the timeline for completing full deployment of this program in Massachusetts.
Thank you for your consideration on this important issue. We look forward to your timely response.
Sincerely,
Representative Seth Moulton
Senator Edward J. Markey
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Representative Richard E. Neal
Representative James P. McGovern
Representative Michael E. Capuano
Representative Stephen E. Lynch
Representative Niki Tsongas
Representative William R. Keating
Representative Joseph P. Kennedy, III
Representative Katherine Clark
