Open AccessMandatory Reporting of Fatal and Nonfatal Opioid Overdoses in a Rural Public Health Department
Author(s) -
Christopher Frank,
Siri E Kushner,
David A Doran,
Jeanette K. StehrGreen
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.2018.304690
Subject(s) - medicine , opioid overdose , public health , harm reduction , medical emergency , drug overdose , medical prescription , occupational safety and health , poison control , suicide prevention , family medicine , injury prevention , opioid , emergency medicine , environmental health , (+) naloxone , nursing , receptor , pathology
In 2016, Clallam County became the first county in Washington State to mandate reporting of fatal and nonfatal opioid overdoses. This reporting improved our understanding of opioid overdoses in the community and allowed us to provide harm reduction and case management services after nonfatal overdoses. By using the Washington State Prescription Monitoring Program, we have been able to notify health care providers when their patients have experienced a fatal or nonfatal opioid overdose to help better guide their prescribing practices.