Medical Devices and Prescription Drug Policy

Report finds holes in government’s efforts to combat prescription drug abuse

{mosads}”Agencies varied in how they used the key practices when developing these efforts, which varied in size, scope, and duration,” GAO found. “All agencies established metrics to monitor the implementation and functional elements of their educational efforts, but only two agencies have established or are planning to establish metrics to assess the impact of their efforts on audiences’ knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. 

“Without outcome evaluations, federal agencies have limited knowledge of how effective their efforts are in achieving their goals — in this case, reducing prescription pain reliever abuse and misuse.”