Tomah VA director says overmedication already addressed

TOMAH, Wis. (AP) - The director of the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Tomah says he had already taken steps to address reports of overmedication of patients before federal officials announced a review of prescription practices at the Wisconsin facility.

Tomah VA director Mario DeSanctis says his staff began looking into the unusually high rate of opiate prescriptions in 2012. In an interview with the La Crosse Tribune (http://bit.ly/1BxJtoY ) this week, DeSanctis says steps to institute solutions to the problem have already been taken.

U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald said this week his second in command will lead a review of medication practices at Tomah. The nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting recently reported the number of opiates prescribed at the center quintupled between 2004 and 2012, even as the number of patients declined.

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Information from: La Crosse Tribune, http://www.lacrossetribune.com