[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2160 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2160

    To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a pain care 
  initiative in health care facilities of the Department of Veterans 
                    Affairs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 15, 2007

 Mr. Akaka (for himself and Mr. Brown) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a pain care 
  initiative in health care facilities of the Department of Veterans 
                    Affairs, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans Pain Care Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Acute and chronic pain are prevalent conditions within 
        the population of veterans.
            (2) Methods of modern warfare, including the use of 
        improvised explosive devices, produce substantial numbers of 
        battlefield casualties with significant damage to both the 
        central and peripheral nervous systems.
            (3) The successes of military health care, both on and off 
        the battlefield, result in high survival rates of severely 
        injured military personnel who will be afflicted with 
        significant pain disorders on either an acute or chronic basis.
            (4) Failure to treat pain appropriately at the time of 
        transition from receipt of care from the Department of Defense 
        to receipt of care from the Department of Veterans Affairs 
        contributes to the development of long-term chronic pain 
        syndromes, in some cases accompanied by long-term mental health 
        and substance use disorders.
            (5) Pain is a leading cause of short-term and long-term 
        disability among veterans.
            (6) The Department of Veterans Affairs has implemented 
        important pain care programs at some facilities and in some 
        areas, but comprehensive pain care is not consistently provided 
        on a uniform basis throughout the health care system of the 
        Department to all patients in need of such care.
            (7) Inconsistent and ineffective pain care provided by the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs leads to pain-related 
        impairments, occupational disability, and medical and mental 
        complications for veterans with acute and chronic pain, with 
        long-term costs for the health care and disability systems of 
        the Department and for society at large.
            (8) Research, diagnosis, treatment, and management of acute 
        and chronic pain for veterans constitute health care priorities 
        of the United States.

SEC. 3. PAIN CARE INITIATIVE IN DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HEALTH 
              CARE FACILITIES.

    (a) Requirement.--Subchapter II of chapter 17 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 1720F. Pain care
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out at each health 
care facility of the Department an initiative on pain care.
    ``(b) Elements.--The initiative at each health care facility of the 
Department shall ensure that each individual receiving treatment in 
such health care facility receives the following:
            ``(1) An assessment for pain at the time of admission or 
        initial treatment, and periodically thereafter, using a 
        professionally recognized pain assessment tool or process.
            ``(2) Appropriate pain care consistent with recognized 
        means for assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and management of 
        acute and chronic pain, including when appropriate, access to 
        specialty pain management services.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
1720E the following new item:

``1720F. Pain care.''.
    (c) Implementation.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure 
that the pain care initiatives required by section 1720F of title 38, 
United States Code, as added by subsection (a), are implemented at all 
health care facilities of the Department of Veterans affairs by not 
later than--
            (1) January 1, 2008, in the case of inpatient care; and
            (2) January 1, 2009, in the case of outpatient care.

SEC. 4. PROGRAM ON RESEARCH AND TRAINING ON PAIN IN DEPARTMENT OF 
              VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 73 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 7330A. Program of research and training on acute and chronic 
              pain
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out within the Medical 
and Prosthetic Research Service of the Veterans Health Administration a 
program of research and training on acute and chronic pain.
    ``(b) Purposes.--The purposes of the program shall include the 
following:
            ``(1) To identify research priorities most relevant to the 
        treatment of the types of acute and chronic pain suffered by 
        veterans.
            ``(2) To promote, conduct, and coordinate research in 
        accordance with such research priorities--
                    ``(A) through the facilities and programs of the 
                Department; and
                    ``(B) in cooperation with other agencies, 
                institutions, and organizations, including the 
                Department of Defense.
            ``(3) To educate and train health care personnel of the 
        Department with respect to the assessment, diagnosis, 
        treatment, and management of acute and chronic pain.
    ``(c) Designation of Centers.--(1) The Secretary shall designate an 
appropriate number of facilities of the Department as cooperative 
centers for research and education on pain. Each such center shall be 
designated with a focus on research and training on one or more of the 
following:
            ``(A) Acute pain.
            ``(B) Chronic pain.
            ``(C) A research priority identified under subsection 
        (b)(1).
    ``(2) The Secretary shall designate at least one of the centers 
designated under paragraph (1) as a lead center for research on pain 
attributable to central and peripheral nervous system damage commonly 
associated with the battlefield injuries characteristic of modern 
warfare.
    ``(3) The Secretary shall designate one of the centers designated 
under paragraph (1) as the lead center for coordinating the pain care 
research activities of the centers designated under this subsection. 
The functions of such center shall be the following:
            ``(A) To review and evaluate periodically the research of 
        the centers designated under this subsection and to ensure that 
        such research is conducted in accordance with the research 
        priorities identified pursuant to subsection (b)(1).
            ``(B) To collect and disseminate the results of the 
        research of the centers designated under this subsection.
            ``(C) To develop and disseminate educational materials and 
        products--
                    ``(i) to enhance the assessment, diagnosis, 
                treatment, and management of acute and chronic pain by 
                the health care professionals and facilities of the 
                Veterans Health Administration; and
                    ``(ii) for veterans suffering from acute or chronic 
                pain and their families.
    ``(d) Award of Funding.--Centers designated under subsection (c) 
may compete for the award of funding from amounts appropriated to the 
Department each fiscal year for medical and prosthetics research.
    ``(e) National Oversight.--The Under Secretary of Health shall 
designate an appropriate officer--
            ``(1) to oversee the operation of the centers designated 
        under subsection (c); and
            ``(2) to review and evaluate periodically the performance 
        of such centers.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
7330 the following new item:

``7330A. Program of research and training on acute and chronic pain.''.
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