HHS' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health CMO Vanila Singh, MD, will lead the agency's Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force, India West reports.
Here's what you should know:
1. Dr. Singh is a clinical professor of anesthesiology at Stanford (Calif.) University. She also is a practicing anesthesiologist.
2. Congress created the task force through the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016, allocating $181 million to it at the time.
3. The task force consists of representatives from government agencies as well as medical professionals. The group will attempt to find opiate alternatives.
4. HHS, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and DOD will oversee the task force.