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Department of Veterans Affairs Opioid Prescribing Data

In keeping with the Department of Veterans Affairs effort to be the most transparent agency in government, VA will begin publicly posting information on opioids dispensed from VA pharmacies along with VA's strategies to appropriately and safely prescribe these pain medications.

This interactive map shows data over a five-year period (2012-2019) and does not include Veterans' personal information. The posted information shows opioid dispensing rates for each facility and how much those rates have changed over time. It is important to note that because the needs and conditions of Veterans may be different at each facility, the rates of the use of opioids may also be different for that reason and can't be compared.

Interactive Map Tabular Data

The Opioid Safety Initiative (OSI) is the coordinating center for all of VA's efforts to promote safe prescribing practices and to address the broader opioid epidemic in the United States.

Prescribing Rate

Opioid prescribing rates are calculated by dividing the number of veterans who received any opioid prescription by the total number of veterans who received a prescription from that pharmacy within the specified time period.

Percent Change

The percent change represents the relative decrease (or increase) in opioid prescribing rates between 2012 and 2019. Overall, 99% of VA facilities have decreased prescribing rates since 2012.

Regional Non-VA prescribing rate

It is well-established that opioid prescribing rates and abuse vary across different regions of the country. The regional comparison categories are generated using publicly available data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) opioid prescribing mapping tool at cms.gov. This rate is calculated by dividing the number of Medicare Part D claims for opioid medications by the total number of Part D claims in each State. The most current available data comparison data is from 2015.

In keeping with the Department of Veterans Affairs effort to be the most transparent agency in government, VA will begin publicly posting information on opioids dispensed from VA pharmacies along with VA’s strategies to appropriately and safely prescribe these pain medications.

Page last updated on January 1, 2020

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