3.0.0 1641 2023-01-11T13:30:39Z 2023-01-11T13:30:39Z Senate S 2015-06-22 114 ssva00 Veterans' Affairs Committee Senate Standing Referred to 2015-06-22T21:46:27Z 2015-06-22 ssva00 Veterans' Affairs Committee Senate Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S4539) IntroReferral 2015-06-22 Introduced in Senate IntroReferral 10000 9 Library of Congress B001230 Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI] Tammy Baldwin D WI N C001047 Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV] Shelley Capito R WV Moore 2015-06-22 True B001277 Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] Richard Blumenthal D CT 2015-06-22 True B000944 Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH] Sherrod Brown D OH 2015-06-22 True H001042 Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] Mazie Hirono D HI K. 2015-06-22 True J000293 Sen. Johnson, Ron [R-WI] Ron Johnson R WI 2015-06-22 True K000384 Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA] Timothy Kaine D VA M. 2015-06-22 True M001183 Sen. Manchin, Joe, III [D-WV] Joseph Manchin D WV 2015-06-22 True M000133 Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] Edward Markey D MA J. 2015-06-22 True M000934 Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS] Jerry Moran R KS 2015-06-22 True M001111 Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA] Patty Murray D WA 2015-06-22 True S000033 Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] Bernard Sanders I VT 2015-06-22 True T000464 Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT] Jon Tester D MT 2015-06-22 True D000563 Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] Richard Durbin D IL J. 2015-06-25 False K000367 Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] Amy Klobuchar D MN 2015-07-13 False F000457 Sen. Franken, Al [D-MN] Al Franken D MN 2015-07-23 False W000805 Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA] Mark Warner D VA R. 2015-10-08 False S000148 Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY] Charles Schumer D NY E. 2016-01-28 False M001170 Sen. McCaskill, Claire [D-MO] Claire McCaskill D MO 2016-02-22 False K000360 Sen. Kirk, Mark Steven [R-IL] MARK KIRK R IL STEVEN 2016-02-29 False F000062 Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA] Dianne Feinstein D CA 2016-03-16 False Armed Forces and National Security Congressional oversight Drug therapy Drug trafficking and controlled substances Drug, alcohol, tobacco use Government studies and investigations Health programs administration and funding Health promotion and preventive care Licensing and registrations Medical ethics Medical research Medical tests and diagnostic methods Mental health Military medicine Neurological disorders Prescription drugs Veterans' medical care Armed Forces and National Security 00 2015-06-22 Introduced in Senate 2015-11-23T19:43:55Z Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act

This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) to jointly update the VA/DOD Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Opioid Therapy for Chronic Pain, including guidelines regarding:

  • prescribing opioids for outpatient treatment of chronic, non-cancer pain;
  • contraindications for opioid therapy;
  • treatment of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, psychiatric disorders, or a history of substance abuse or addiction;
  • case management for patients transitioning between inpatient and outpatient health care;
  • routine and random urine drug tests to help prevent substance abuse; and
  • options to augment opioid therapy with other clinical and complementary and integrative health services to minimize opioid dependence.

The VA shall:

  • expand the Opioid Safety Initiative to include all VA medical facilities, including providing employees with pain management training, and establishment of pain management teams;
  • track and monitor opioid use, including through the use of state program information;
  • increase the availability of Food and Drug Administration-approved opioid receptor antagonists;
  • modify the Computerized Patient Record System to ensure that any health care provider that accesses a veteran's record will be immediately notified whether the veteran is receiving opioid therapy and has a history of substance use disorder or opioid abuse;
  • establish a Pain Management Board in each Veterans Integrated Service Network;
  • conduct a feasibility study for a program under which veterans at risk for prescription drug abuse receive prescription drugs only from certain VA pharmacies;
  • establish the Office of Patient Advocacy;
  • expand research and education on, and delivery and integration of, complementary and integrative health services into veterans' health care services, including services provided to veterans with mental health or chronic conditions;
  • assess the feasibility of using wellness programs to complement pain management and related health care services to veterans and their families;
  • carry out a program of internal audits to improve health care services to veterans and their families; and
  • provide to the medical board of each state in which a VA health care provider is licensed information about such provider's medical license violations.

A working group on pain management and opioid therapy for individuals receiving VA or DOD health care is established within the Health Executive Committee of the VA-DOD Joint Executive Committee.

The Government Accountability Office shall report to Congress on the VA's: (1) Opioid Safety Initiative and the opioid prescribing practices of VA health care providers, and (2) the Patient Advocacy Program.

The VA shall request from the medical board of each state in which a prospective health care provider has a medical license: (1) information on medical license violations during the past 20 years, and (2) information on whether the health care provider has entered into any settlement agreement for a medical-related disciplinary charge.

]]> Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act Display Title Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act Official Title as Introduced A bill to improve the use by the Department of Veterans Affairs of opioids in treating veterans, to improve patient advocacy by the Department, and to expand availability of complementary and integrative health, and for other purposes. Introduced in Senate IS Short Titles as Introduced Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act Introduced in Senate 2015-06-22T04:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-114s1641is/xml/BILLS-114s1641is.xml 2015-06-22 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S4539) text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.