ADVOCACY SPOTLIGHT


to available medical history patient, including prescriptions; and


■■ of a


Community care providers are required to submit medical records to VA of any care or services furnished, including prescriptions. For more information regarding the


VA MISSION Act, visit www.advancing- surgicalcare.com/veterans-health-care. On the other side of the US Capi- tol, the Senate moved myriad measures throughout the late spring and summer. One legislative package, the Helping to End Addiction and Lessen Substance Abuse Disorders Act, requires health care professionals to use electronic pre- scribing for Medicare-covered drugs with certain controlled substances, among many provisions. Another pack- age, the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018, comprises more than 40 bills to help build innovation, research, product safety, treatment, recovery and other programs related to opioids.


Administrative Action In addition to critical legislation passed by Congress, multiple federal agencies initiated opioid abuse prevention mech- anisms. In late 2017, President Donald Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency. While this designa- tion stops short of a national emergency declaration, it does provide government and law enforcement officials some flexibility to move funding where it is needed the most. The move also permits expanded telemedicine and prescribing authority to help treat addiction, accord- ing to a National Public Radio article last fall. Public health emergency decla- rations last for 90 days and this one has been extended three times. Other important federal initiatives


include: ■■


Food and Drug Administration (FDA): According to a May 30, 2018, press release, the FDA “launched an innovation challenge to spur the devel- opment of medical devices, includ- ing digital health technologies and diagnostic tests, that could provide


●■ VA MISSION Act


For more information, go to www.ascassociation.org/opioid


www.advancingsurgicalcare.com/ veterans-health-care


●■ ■■


novel solutions to detecting, treating and preventing addiction, addressing diversion and treating pain.” FDA’s stated goal is to “provide additional incentives for product developers to invest in products that can address aspects of the addiction crisis and advance the development of prom- ising technologies.” The FDA will accept submissions until September 30 and announce selected applicants in November. The challenge applica- tion is located on www.fda.gov. Substance


Abuse and Mental


Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): Within HHS, SAMHSA has existed in the vanguard of men- tal health and addiction treatment since its inception in July 1992. Its core mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America’s communities. Among various efforts, SAMHSA adminis- ters Opioid State Targeted Response grants, which provide states up to $500 million per year to focus on areas of greatest need, including increasing access to treatment, reducing unmet treatment need and reducing opioid- related deaths. The agency also pro- vides funding to specific populations for medication-assisted treatment.


■■


US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): In early May, HHS appointed 28 members to the new Pain Management Best Prac- tices Inter-Agency Task Force (Task Force). As required by the Compre- hensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, the task force is responsible for: ●■


determining whether there are


gaps or inconsistencies in pain management best practices among federal agencies;


●■


proposing updates to best practices and recommendations on address- ing gaps or inconsistencies;


providing the public with an oppor- tunity to comment on any proposed updates and recommendations; and


developing a strategy for disseminat- ing information about best practices. Vanila M. Singh, MD, chief medi-


cal officer in HHS’s Office of the Assis- tant Secretary for Health, chairs the task force. Members include representatives from relevant HHS sub-agencies, the US Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and experts in “areas related to pain management, advocacy, addiction, recovery, substance use disorders, mental health, minority health and more.” Other representatives include patients, veteran service organiza- tions, the addiction treatment community and groups with expertise in overdose reversal, such as first responders, medical boards and hospitals. As HHS Secretary


Alex Azar


affirmed in the Task Force announce- ment, “In order to defeat America’s crisis of opioid addiction, one of our top four priorities at HHS, we need to under- stand and address how we got here.” It matters how we got here, but as harbingers of care, policymakers and providers must ensure the next place we find ourselves is a safer one. To this end, Congress, federal regulators, the ASC community and health care stakeholders at large are striving to help resolve the opioid crisis. As House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy stated on June 13, “This is not the first step, and this is not the last step—it is simply the next step.” For more information on opi-


oid legislation and other federal leg- islative activity, write Jeff Evans at jevans@ascassociation.org.


Jeff Evans is ASCA’s assistant director of government affairs, legislative affairs. Write him at jevans@ascassociation.org


ASC FOCUS SEPTEMBER 2018 |www.ascfocus.org 23


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