In 2016, unintentional drug overdoses caused the deaths of 4,050 Ohio residents, a 33% increase from 3,050 overdose deaths in 2015 (ODH). Ohio had the fourth highest overdose death rate in the nation at 29.9 per 100,000 (CDC). The State of Ohio has taken bold action to fight opiate abuse and to reduce the number of deaths caused by accidental opioid overdose. Initiatives have been launched to curb over-prescribing of opioid pain medication:
- Shutting down “pill mills”
- Increasing illegal drug seizures
- Empowering healthcare providers and families to prevent and address drug abuse
- Making the opiate overdose reversal drug Naloxone widely available to the public.
Despite the state’s aggressive campaign to limit access to opioids, crack down on illegal opioid trafficking, prevent deaths with widespread naloxone access, and treat opioid addiction, the death toll from opioid addiction continues to rise.
In order to guide future state efforts to address the Ohio opioid crisis, Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) and Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) recognize the need for rigorous research and data solutions to identify the factors that contribute to opioid endpoints. GRC will assist ODM and ODHE to engage leading content experts who will develop and implement analytic strategies for the purpose of identifying high risk groups and potentially modifiable factors related to critical opioid endpoints. Advanced data analytic strategies such as spatial analysis and artificial neural networking will be used to provide insight into regional and sub-regional factors to increase the accuracy of predictions related to opioid endpoints.
An Executive Committee of academic and state agency subject matter experts, healthcare administrators, and clinicians will provide direction and oversite regarding the research design and methodology of the Ohio Opioid Analytics Project. GRC will three multidiscipline, cross-university Opioid Analytics Teams (OATs) and a Data Solutions Group (DSG) to plan, develop, and execute the research around distinct clusters of opioid endpoints: Prevention, Child Welfare, and Treatment.
The primary project deliverables include:
- Predictive modeling and visualization tools that will inform state policy decisions regarding opioid endpoints such as opioid use disorder and overdose
- Point-of-service tools to assist healthcare providers with decisions regarding prescribing and treatment based on risk factors available at the point of service, such as behavioral health history and demographics
