In an article published in Military.com, officials said that the Department of Defense is “making headway on [the] opioid epidemic among troops.”
In the past year, overall opioid use by active-duty military members has gone from 3.2 percent to 2.7 percent, according to Capt. Mike Colston of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. This includes prescriptions for opioids.
Combating the opioid epidemic in America has been a priority for President Trump’s administration. The Department of Defense has followed his lead and made strides to lower the abuse of opioids within the military.
Military Making Headway on Opioid Epidemic Among Troops, Officials Say |https://t.co/7ALfPmdSGc
— Military.com (@Militarydotcom) June 22, 2018
Reforms Bring Down Opioid Use
The Department of Defense credits recent reforms among the military with the lower rates of opioid use.
Vice Admiral Raquel C. Bono, Director of the Defense Health Agency, told the House of Representatives earlier this month that “less than 1 percent of active-duty service members are abusing or addicted to opioids and its rate of deadly overdoses is a quarter of the national average.”
The Defense Health Agency is part of providing medical care to military personnel from the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The agency “supports the delivery of integrated, affordable, and high quality health services to Military Health System beneficiaries and is responsible for driving greater integration of clinical and business processes across the MHS.”
Drug screenings have been part of the military since the 1960s, after thousands of service members returned from the Vietnam war with drug addictions. The military began implementing random drug testing in 1974, with its primary intent being to “identify users for treatment.”
Random drug screenings remain a critical part of the military’s plan to deter drug use among its ranks. Service members are required to submit to drug screenings whenever their name comes up in a random sample within their command. Each command has a designated person to coordinate and administer the urinalysis program, who reports to the Commanding Officer.
Alternative treatments are also being explored to replace opioid prescriptions, which can be easily misused or abused. Prescribed opioids have “fallen 15 percent,” stated Capt. Colston.
The Path Forward
Even though numbers are decreasing, military leadership is still working hard to make even more progress. “Work remains in educating service members and veterans on opioid addiction threats and implementing new strategies to reduce abuse,” the Military.com article stated.
The specific groups that are most at-risk include those transitioning from military to civilian life, veterans, and retirees. As a military member transitions from the regimented life of active-duty to one of greater uncertainty, and often new jobs, moves, or financial situations, they can be more likely to abuse opioids or other drugs. There is also “more likelihood of a patient falling through the cracks or higher incidents of concern,” according to the article.
There have also been recent changes within the Department of Veterans Affairs. President Trump recently signed legislation aimed at reforming the VA to bring more options to patients, ultimately resulting in better patient care.
One of the biggest changes with the recently-signed VA MISSION Act of 2018 is that VA-eligible patients will now be able to seek outside care when the timeliness or availability of care within the VA will not adequately address their needs.
This change will help address cases such as that of Army soldier Daniel Keegan. Representative Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H) shared the story of Keegan, as told by his mother. Keegan became addicted to heroin while suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He struggled to navigate the VA system and died before he was able to begin treatment for his addiction.
“In Dan’s words, he was a disposable soldier we spent a fortune training. But when he got sick, we dropped him,” she said.
Unfortunately, Keegan’s story is common among those who are addicted to opioids and other drugs. Even those who want to get treatment and recovery face navigating a complicated system. Trump’s VA reform hopes to help make that system easier to handle for those who need care.
“There has to be a system in place that ensures separating service members who are eligible for VA care and need VA care have an appointment scheduled before they separate from DoD,” the article quoted Representative Shea-Porter.
The majority of those connected with the military who abuse opioids are outside of the active-duty force. According to data provided by Vice Admiral Bono, 83 percent are older than 45 years old and are “most likely to be a retiree or a relative of one and they seek care outside military hospitals and clinics.” Targeting this key group to reduce the risk and incidence of drug abuse is an important step forward for the DoD.
New initiatives include a “joint reporting effort with state Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs” that help “create new, additional safeguards for catching people who might be abusing or are addicted to the drug.” This program is set to begin in December of this year.
“I think the military has the opportunity to lead the nation to reduce opioid abuse and develop alternative pain management therapies,” said Representative Jackie Speier (D-Calif).
Vice Admiral Bono and the Defense Health Agency remain committed to lowering opioid abuse numbers even more. “We need to learn from those processes that are not working and change them,” she stated in her command priorities.
For now, the military can take pride in knowing that they are indeed leading the fight on opioid abuse by taking care of their own ranks.
