Audit of Defense Health Agency Controls to Monitor Opioid Prescription Compliance with Federal and DoD Opioid Safety Standards

Rec. 2.a: The DoD OIG recommended that the Director of the Defense Health Agency determine whether the five sample beneficiaries who were not listed on Prescription Monitoring Program reports should have been identified as candidates through the Prescription Monitoring Program and, based on the results, coordinate with the TRICARE Pharmacy contractor to determine whether the algorithms used to identify candidates on the Prescription Monitoring Program are adequate to identify all at?risk beneficiaries on long-term opioid therapy and receiving high morphine milligram equivalents. If the Defense Health Agency determines the algorithms are not adequate, the Defense Health Agency should coordinate with the TRICARE Pharmacy contractor to adjust the algorithms to ensure they identify all at-risk beneficiaries on long-term opioid therapy and receiving high morphine milligram equivalents.

Rec. 2.c: The DoD OIG recommended that the Director of the Defense Health Agency implement procedures to review DoD medical treatment facility and Managed Care Support Contractor compliance with the Prescription Monitoring Program requirements in Defense Health Agency Instructions and the TRICARE Operations Manual.