The VA has begun publicly posting information on opioids dispensed from VA pharmacies, becoming the only health care system in the country to do so.
An interactive map is available, showing data from 2012-2017, with opioid-dispensing rates for each facility and how much those rates have changed over time. The prescribing-rate information will be updated twice a year. According to the data, opioid prescribing rates dropped 41% between 2012-2017.
Nearly all (99%) facilities reduced their prescribing rates. El Paso, Texas, and Fayetteville, North Carolina are “most improved,” cutting prescribing rates by > 60% since 2012. San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Cleveland, Ohio, have the lowest prescribing rates, at 3%.
The map is available at https://www.data.va.gov/story/department-veterans-affairs-opioid-prescribing-data.