TOMAH (WITI/AP) -- U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) will join fellow members of Congress and members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs to hear testimony looking into the practices at the Tomah VA Medical Center, allegations of over-prescribing opiates to veterans, and retaliatory behavior toward whistleblowers.
Monday’s joint field hearing will provide an important forum for witnesses and panelists to give testimony and share their experiences related to this critically important issue.
The Joint Committee Field Hearing on the Tomah VA Medical Center will take place March 30th at 1:00 p.m. at the Cranberry Country Lodge at 319 Wittig Road in Tomah.
Last month, Rep. Kind sent a letter to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs urging the committee to hold a field hearing to examine the pain-management practices at Tomah and VA medical centers nationwide.
A copy of the letter can be found here.
Meanwhile, Veterans Affairs officials say they are trying to put solutions in place to limit narcotic overprescribing practices in VA hospitals, but lapses still happen.
At a U.S. Senate hearing in Washington Thursday, March 26th, Sen. Richard Blumenthal called the VA system of prescribing narcotics "abysmally inaccurate" and prodded VA officials on how they would fix programs used to monitor prescription of painkillers.
Interim VA Undersecretary for Health Carolyn Clancy said the VA is launching computer tools aimed at tracking opioid prescriptions across the VA system. But Clancy said software in 29 states doesn't work with similar state-run programs. As a result some patients can get prescriptions from both VA and other doctors.
Clancy said she is working to address the gap and the program has seen success elsewhere.