Source: The Ohio Council
The Ohio Department of Health released the 2015 Ohio Drug Overdose Data in August. The data clearly shows an increase in deaths from heroin and fentanyl at unprecedented rates. Reports tout that the percentage of prescription opioid related deaths compared to all unintentional overdose deaths declined for the fourth year in a row. That sounds good until looking closer and realizing that the number of people dying from prescription opioid overdose isn’t a meaningful decline (only five fewer people died in 2015 than in 2014), but the total number of people overdosing is increasing - almost 200% in the past decade and 21% in the past year, an increase of over 500 people from 2014 to 2015.
Dr. D. Helmuth on Saturday 11/05/2016 at 07:15 PM
There is a life saving prophylactic medication: buprenorphine/naloxone (Suboxone). Unfortunately, a couple years ago our medical board increased the restrictions and regulations on its use. The predictable result has been more OD deaths in Ohio.