The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) recently launched an updated opioid and drug overdose data dashboard with county-level data on hospitalizations and deaths due to the overdose of opioids and other drugs.
The new dashboard presents information “in an easier-to-understand format, making data more accessible — and thus, actionable — to the public,” stated a news release from the department.
Preliminary data on the dashboard has been updated through 2022, and cocaine has been added to the list of drugs reported. The data is updated quarterly from sources including death certificates and hospital discharge information. It can be used to examine opioid morbidity and mortality due to drug overdose.
The department said it is intended to help raise awareness of the opioid epidemic in Washington state.
“Drug overdose, particularly from opioids such as fentanyl, is a serious public health crisis in our country and in our state. Between 2007 and 2021, more than 17,500 Washington residents died from a drug overdose,” stated Dr. Tao Sheng Kwan-Gett, chief science officer for the department, in the release.
He added 69% of those involved opioids.
Like all publicly available DOH data, the dashboard suppresses small numbers to avoid sharing personal health information.
Information on how to prevent and respond to drug overdoses can be found on the DOH website.
To visit the dashboard, head to https://doh.wa.gov/data-and-statistical-reports/washington-tracking-network-wtn/opioids/overdose-dashboard.
