(2) the term ‘‘task force’’ means the Pain Man-
agement Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force 
convened under subsection (b). 
(b) INTER-AGENCY TASK FORCE.—Not later than 
December 14, 2018, the Secretary, in cooperation with the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Defense, 
and the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Adminis-
tration, shall convene a Pain Management Best Practices 
Inter-Agency Task Force to review, modify, and update, 
as appropriate, best practices for pain management (in-
cluding chronic and acute pain) and prescribing pain 
medication. 
(c) MEMBERSHIP.—The task force shall be comprised 
of— 
(1) representatives of— 
(A) the Department of Health and Human 
Services; 
(B) the Department of Veterans Affairs; 
(C) the Food and Drug Administration; 
(D) the Department of Defense; 
(E) the Drug Enforcement Administration; 
(F) the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention; 
(G) the National Academy of Medicine; 
(H) the National Institutes of Health; and 
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(I) the Office of National Drug Control 
Policy; 
(2) physicians, dentists, and nonphysician pre-
scribers; 
(3) pharmacists; 
(4) experts in the fields of pain research and 
addiction research; 
(5) representatives of— 
(A) pain management professional organi-
zations; 
(B) the mental health treatment commu-
nity; 
(C) the addiction treatment community; 
(D) pain advocacy groups; and 
(E) groups with expertise around overdose 
reversal; 
(6) a person in recovery from addiction to medi-
cation for chronic pain; 
(7) a person with chronic pain; and 
(8) other stakeholders, as the Secretary deter-
mines appropriate. 
(d) DUTIES.—The task force shall— 
(1) not later than 180 days after the date on 
which the task force is convened under subsection 
(b), review, modify, and update, as appropriate, best 
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practices for pain management (including chronic 
and acute pain) and prescribing pain medication, 
taking into consideration— 
(A) existing pain management research; 
(B) recommendations from relevant con-
ferences and existing relevant evidence-based 
guidelines; 
(C) ongoing efforts at the State and local 
levels and by medical professional organizations 
to develop improved pain management strate-
gies, including consideration of the availability 
of opioids with abuse deterrent technology as 
well as pharmacological and medical device al-
ternatives 
to 
opioids 
to 
reduce 
opioid 
monotherapy in appropriate cases; 
(D) the management of high-risk popu-
lations, other than populations who suffer pain, 
who— 
(i) 
may 
use 
or 
be 
prescribed 
benzodiazepines, 
alcohol, 
and 
diverted 
opioids; or 
(ii) receive opioids in the course of 
medical care; and 
(E) the Proposed 2016 Guideline for Pre-
scribing Opioids for Chronic Pain issued by the 
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (80 
Fed. Reg. 77351 (December 14, 2015)) and 
any final guidelines issued by the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention; 
(2) solicit and take into consideration public 
comment on the practices developed under para-
graph (1), amending such best practices if appro-
priate; and 
(3) develop a strategy for disseminating infor-
mation about the best practices developed under 
paragraphs (1) and (2) to prescribers, pharmacists, 
State medical boards, educational institutions that 
educate prescribers and pharmacists, and other par-
ties, as the Secretary determines appropriate. 
(e) LIMITATION.—The task force shall not have rule-
making authority. 
(f) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 
on which the task force is convened under subsection (b), 
the task force shall submit to Congress a report that in-
cludes— 
(1) the strategy for disseminating best practices 
for pain management (including chronic and acute 
pain) and prescribing pain medication, as developed 
under subsection (d); 
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(2) the results of a feasibility study on linking 
the best practices described in paragraph (1) to re-
ceiving and renewing registrations under section 
303(f) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 
823(f)); and 
(3) recommendations for effectively applying 
the best practices described in paragraph (1) to im-
prove prescribing practices at medical facilities, in-
cluding medical facilities of the Veterans Health Ad-
ministration. 
Æ 
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