The health and medical readiness of America’s military forces is a critical component of our Nation’s security. It is also the number one priority of the Military Health System that employs an extensive system of individualized assessments to monitor and evaluate Service member health throughout one’s military career.

Prescription drug medications are an integral part of these health evaluations, particularly before and after deployments The Department of Defense has established extensive policies to screen, prescribe, renew and monitor the use of prescription drugs to safeguard health and ensure a fit and healthy fighting force.

Important checks and balances exist throughout the system to protect Service members from overuse or abuse. For example, all deploying individuals are prescreened with a special tool, called the Prescription Medication Analysis and Reporting Tool, which reports high-risk medications, automatically disqualifies members from deploying, identifies Service members who require a waiver, and provides reports on four target medication categories: sedative hypnotics, narcotics, anti-depressants and antipsychotics.

In addition to general pharmacy guidelines, specific medication restrictions have been established to help deployment centers evaluate each Service member’s ability to not only carry out their own duties, but withstand the environmental conditions and mission demands of theater.

Continue reading more about human performance optimization and prescription drug management in the Military Health System at http://www.fhpr.osd.mil/fhp_online/prescription.jsp.

To learn more about options for obtaining prescription drugs through Tricare, visit http://www.tricare.mil/mybenefit/home/Prescriptions/PharmacyProgram.