NEPA Vital Signs - Winter Spring 2019 - 24

L ACKMEDSOC.ORG

*

LUZERNEMEDSOC.ORG

Feature

COMBATING THE

OPIOID CRISIS

IN PENNSYLVANIA

T

he heroin and opioid crisis is one of
the greatest public health threats
of our time, not only in Pennsylvania, but across the United States, and data
shows that this epidemic is growing. The
national mortality rate for drug poisoning
was 22 deaths per 100,000 people in 2017.
In 2017, 5,456 people died in Pennsylvania
from drug-related overdoses, at a rate
of 43 deaths per 100,000 people. This
equates to 15 Pennsylvanians dying each
day from an overdose.

(PDMP) is a tool that collects information
on all filled prescriptions for controlled
substances. Health care providers utilize
this information to determine if patients are

seeking opioids from other providers. This
enables providers to carefully prescribe and
connect patients to treatment for opioid
use disorder (OUD), if needed.

Figure 1. Location of drug take-back boxes across the state

Pennsylvania is working to stem the tide
of this epidemic, with a focus on three major
areas: prevention, rescue and treatment.

Prevention

The Wolf Administration strives to prevent opioid use disorder through several
strategies by reducing over-prescribing
and promoting opioid stewardship. The
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program

Source: Open Data PA, 2018.
N E PA

24

VITAL SIGNS



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NEPA Vital Signs - Winter Spring 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NEPA Vital Signs - Winter Spring 2019

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https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/NEPA_VitalSigns/NEPA_VitalSigns_Winter2019Spring2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/NEPA_VitalSigns/NEPA_VitalSigns_SummerFall2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/NEPA_VitalSigns/NEPA_VitalSigns_WinterSpring2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/NEPA_VitalSigns/NEPA_VitalSigns_SummerFall2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/NEPA_VitalSigns/NEPA_VitalSigns_WinterSpring2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/NEPA_VitalSigns/NEPA_VitalSigns_SummerFall2017
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