The Defense Department is unable to track what prescription medications soldiers are consuming, including antipsychotic drugs and psychotropic drugs like antidepressants, according to a report released by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The report, which accompanies the 2011 defense authorization bill, states that the military has no data for prescriptions dispensed in army bases on the front lines.
According to estimates presented during a subcommittee hearing in March, one in six service members is on some form of psychiatric-related drug, and 5 percent of troops are on antidepressants. Twelve percent of U.S. Troops in Iraq and 17 percent of troops in Afghanistan are using antidepressants and sleeping pills. Last year, there was a 15 percent increase in active duty army suicides.
“I would say that there is a larger issue in play here that I have a great deal of concern about, and that is the transparency of what is actually happening to our active duty military when they are deployed,” Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., said.
Army Surgeon Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker testified at the hearing that the figures for drug use are lower, with 3 to 6 percent of deployed troops taking drugs to treat mental health or stress problems, and 8.6 percent of active duty soldiers using drugs for depression, anxiety or to help them sleep.
The absence of prescription drug records would be particularly dangerous in the case of an emergency evacuation. Doctors will not know what drugs a soldier has consumed, and may administer medications that adversely interact with prescriptions.
The Senate Armed Services Committee bill states that it “expects the Department to expeditiously implement a reliable method to track and manage the prescription and use of pharmaceuticals.”
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Related Links: Senate: Why Is Psychiatric Drug Use Increasing Among Soldiers?
