“The goal of this alert is to give us an extra chance to save someone’s life,” Gov. Mike DeWine said.
Research shows people who have recently experienced a non-fatal overdose are at a higher risk to overdose again in the near future, DeWine said. They often have regular interactions with the health care system, including pharmacists and prescribers.
“This new alert system will be a valuable tool allowing our health care providers the opportunity to educate and offer treatment and prevention options to these individuals before a tragedy occurs,” DeWine said.
Among Ohioans who died in 2022 from an unintentional drug overdose, at least 32% experienced a prior non-fatal overdose, according to the state.
Among the same population, 26% received a prescription for a controlled substance from a health care provider within 60 days of their death, the governor’s office said.
Flagging state data
The state made changes to the way it tracks non-fatal overdoses earlier this year, requiring emergency departments to report non-fatal drug overdoses to the Ohio Department of Health.
Using this data, the OARRS system will now flag for prescribers and pharmacists any patient who experienced a non-fatal drug overdose and was discharged from an Ohio emergency department on or after April 8, 2024. The alerts will only be available for OARRS users who are prescribers and pharmacists.
“With this alert, we are encouraging prescribers and pharmacists to engage with their patients and offer proven interventions that will prevent fatal drug overdoses in the future,” said Steven Schierholt, executive director of the Ohio Board of Pharmacy.
This is not a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Ohio Board of Pharmacy said. HIPAA applies to health plans, health care clearinghouses and health care providers who conduct certain health care transactions electronically. The pharmacy board does not fall under the definitions of a covered entity.
Catching potential risks
Currently, health care providers check OARRS to see if patients have previously been prescribed a controlled substance, such as for pain management or anxiety.
Before providers had this information available, they were unable to know if patients were getting prescriptions from multiple providers that may interact with each other, said Dr. Becky Thomas, medical director for Public Health - Dayton and Montgomery County.
“This new addition is going to be a helpful tool because many people have visited a prescriber within the last two months before they have an unintentional overdose,” Thomas said. “This will allow providers to make really informed decisions and avoid prescribing medications that could compound to cause a higher risk of accidental overdose.”
Health providers can also utilize this information to provide education on how to access resources for substance use disorder treatment or harm reduction measures like naloxone, Thomas said.
Drop in fatal overdoses
Montgomery County has seen significant strides in reducing fatal overdoses, according to Montgomery County Coroner’s Office data compiled by the Montgomery County Community Overdose Action Team.
Comparing fatal overdoses from January through November of 2023 to those in the same time period in 2024, Montgomery County has seen a 42% drop, according to preliminary coroner’s office data. There were 276 fatal overdoses last year in that time period compared to 160 in 2024. To date, Montgomery County has had 165 fatal overdoses this year.
“We’ve seen a dramatic decrease in our fatal overdoses in Montgomery County over the last year, and a couple of the things that I would attribute that to are the work of peer supporters for one,” Thomas said.
Peer supporters have experienced a substance use disorder themselves and have gone through recovery, she said.
“They can work with people who are using substances currently and give them a sense of hope and help them to chart a course for themselves to a better future,” Thomas said.
Peer supporters also have extensive knowledge of the recovery services in the community, which are vast but may be difficult to navigate if someone has never done so, Thomas said.
In addition, the availability of naloxone, also known as Narcan, has increased and become more widely visible. It is a treatment that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose and is most commonly in the form of a nasal spray.
ODH has increased the number of naloxone kits it has distributed by 520% since 2019, according to the state. Last year, ODH distributed 291,000 kits, DeWine said in late October.
Naloxone kits are available at rest stops and a number of businesses with opioid emergency kits. Narcan is also available behind pharmacy counters but with no prescription needed.
“I think having harm reduction widely available helps to decrease the stigma of drug use and makes it easier for people to get treatment,” Thomas said.
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