“Various programs at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to prevent overdoses are focused on using data to better predict health care and integrate with the agency’s broader behavioral health model.”
“The department’s National Opioid Overdose Education and Naloxone Distribution (OEND) coordinator explained how the office’s efforts began before the national opioid epidemic had been widely identified in public health literature, effectively charting newfound territory with early initiatives to distribute the now widely adopted overdose prevention drug Naloxone, commonly known as Narcan…”
“One of the early challenges was creating a standardized overdose prevention kit for wider dispersal as there were no commercial kits, Oliva said. The agency had to devise both the kit designs and networks of distribution without a preexisting model.”
“The Rapid Naloxone Initiative is connected to a broader reshaping in the VA’s addiction treatment that intends to improve patient outcomes through a holistic approach to behavioral health care emphasizing both technological solutions and clinician education, Oliva told GovernmentCIO Media & Research…”
“Similar to how the Rapid Naloxone Initiative created a wider distribution network for overdose prevention, Oliva said VHA should prioritize designing a similar program for post-overdose behavioral care. This has necessitated a newfound phase of cross-departmental coordination across VHA, with experts aiming to share the breadth of research and experience necessary to design a program of this scope…”
“Beyond leveraging expertise within VHA to refine behavioral health treatment, Oliva mentioned VA is looking into intra-agency collaboration as a catalyst. This includes using the Department of Defense and Defense Health Agency to identify patients who might be at special risk of PTSD or substance abuse disorders and making sure they receive treatment and care before their mental health struggles become more severe…” Read the full article here.
Source: VHA Integrating Opioid Dependency Treatment Within Broader Care – By Adam Patterson, October 28, 2019. GovernmentCIO.
