Results
Title

Sharing Overdose Data Across State Agencies to Inform Public Health Strategies: A Case Study.

Authors

CHERICO-HSII, SARA; BANKOSKI, ANDREA; SINGAL, POOJA; HORON, ISABELLE; BEANE, ERIC; CASEY, MEGHAN; REBBERT-FRANKLIN, KATHLEEN; SHARFSTEIN, JOSHUA

Abstract

Data sharing and analysis are important components of coordinated and cost-effective public health strategies. However, legal and policy barriers have made data from different agencies difficult to share and analyze for policy development. To address a rise in overdose deaths, Maryland used an innovative and focused approach to bring together data on overdose decedents across multiple agencies. The effort was focused on developing discrete intervention points based on information yielded on decedents' lives, such as vulnerability upon release from incarceration. Key aspects of this approach included gubernatorial leadership, a unified commitment to data sharing across agencies with memoranda of understanding, and designation of a data management team. Preliminary results have yielded valuable insights and have helped inform policy. This process of navigating legal and privacy concerns in data sharing across multiple agencies may be applied to a variety of public health problems challenging health departments across the country.

Subjects

MARYLAND; DRUG overdose; GOVERNMENT agencies; ANALGESICS; CRIMINALS; DATABASE management; LEADERSHIP; CASE studies; NARCOTICS; PUBLIC health; GOVERNMENT policy; RELATIVE medical risk; INSTITUTIONAL cooperation; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; PREVENTION

Publication

Public Health Reports, 2016, Vol 131, Issue 2, p258

ISSN

0033-3549

Publication type

Academic Journal

DOI

10.1177/003335491613100209