Why is opioid overdose and prescription data important?
Opioid misuse is a serious public health crisis in the United States. This epidemic includes the use of heroin, prescription opioids and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.
Overdose deaths from prescription and illicit opioids have sharply increased since 1999, killing more than 300,000 people in the last 15 years nationwide. That's about 55 people per day.
Evidence suggests that widespread prescription opioid exposure and increasing rates of opioid abuse have played a role in the growth of heroin use. The amount of opioids prescribed and sold in the United States nearly quadrupled from 1999 to 2014, yet there has not been an overall change in the amount of pain that Americans report.
View the Data
What's Here
WTN has non-confidential data used to monitor the overdose and prescription drug issue, such as the number of prescriptions of opioids and overdoses state-wide.
Reduce Exposure
The Department of Health is combating this issue, including involvement in a statewide opioid response plan. The Department of Health's plan involvement includes using data to detect opioid misuse and abuse, monitoring mortality and morbidity, and evaluating interventions. Access to opioid data on WTN is part of that response plan. Read more on the opioids page.
Additional Resources
Prescription Monitoring Program
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Opioid Basics
University of Washington Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute (ADAI)
Opioid Policy Research Collaborative (OPRC), Heller School and Brandeis University
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Training and Technical Assistance Center (PDMP TTAC)
Washington Agency Medical Director's Group (AMDG), Interagency Guidelines
Dr. Robert Bree Collaborative, Opioid Prescribing Guideline Implementation
CDC WONDER: Public Health Data
Contact Us
For information or questions related to the Washington Tracking Network, email DOH.WTN@doh.wa.gov.
Let Us Know How You Used the Data
We love hearing about how our data is being used to make an impact on the health of Washingtonians. It also helps us to know what is meeting our users’ needs and how we can improve the information we provide. If you used our data, please tell us about it by sending an email to DOH.WTN@doh.wa.gov.
Would you like to receive updates?
Receive updates and information about WTN by joining our email newsletter.
