Why should I be concerned about opioid overdoses and prescriptions?
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.
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.
View the Data
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.
Department of Health Resources
Additional Resources
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Opioid Basics
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)
- 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