VA publicly posts opioid prescription rates for all facilities

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is now publicly posting data on how frequently its doctors prescribe opioids to help with patients' pain. The move makes the department the first hospital system in the country to disclose details on opioid use.Since 2012, when VA instituted a new opioid safety initiative to decrease the amount of medication dispensed, prescriptions have dropped more 41% system-wide. Officials say 99% of facilities have decreased their prescribing rates.