U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman is working on moving the Department of Veterans Affairs away from prescribing “strong” psychotherapeutic medications to veterans.
The 6th Congressional District Republican said this week he is concerned that the department uses the medications as its “primary method of treating” veterans with mental health conditions.
“An overreliance on prescription medication may in some instances leave veterans in a more vulnerable state,” Coffman wrote Monday to Gene Dodaro, the comptroller general of the United States in the Government Accountability Office.
Coffman highlighted post-traumatic stress disorder as an issue. He expressed concerns around cutting off patients suddenly from medications and addictions that cause “unpredictable or dangerous forms of behavior.”
The portion of Veterans Health Administration users with mental health conditions or substance use disorders has increased from about 27 percent in 2001 to more than 40 percent in 2014, according to statistics cited in Coffman’s letter.