The Office of Special Counsel has credited a whistleblower for making disclosures that proved substantiated of improper issuing and refilling of prescriptions for opioids in the Veterans Health Administration Oklahoma City Health Care System.
“According to the disclosure, providers routinely failed to document required assessments—such as evaluations of treatment progress, pain origin, and compliance with opioid monitoring requirements—and often failed to adhere to mandated risk assessments or efforts to taper or adjust opioid therapy. The whistleblower also identified inadequate use of oversight measures, including pill counts and urinalyses,” an announcement said.
“The VA confirmed that the problems identified during their investigation were systemic, not isolated, and they carry serious risks for veterans’ health and safety,” said the OSC, which referred the results to the White House.
The disclosure “led not only to substantiated findings but also to meaningful corrective actions” by the VA, it said, including reviewing pain-management practices, providing staff training on opioid reduction and alternative pain treatments, and developing a tool to monitor opioid use among patients receiving chronic opioid therapy.
The OSC recommended that the VA pay a cash award to the whistleblower, who agreed to be named for purposes of the investigation but who wasn’t publicly identified.
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