Changes in Overdose Reporting

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – The Ohio Governor’s Office announced an administrative change that will improve how drug overdose information and communications are shared.

Genesis Healthcare Emergency Services and Community Ambulance Director Heath Williams explained how a new state issued ruling will require emergency departments to report non-fatal drug overdoses to the Ohio Department of Health.

“ODH has come down with the ruling to put forth a way to not only look at the fatal overdoses but they also want to track the non-fatal overdoses. And that essentially is the new rule. Actually went into place yesterday, April 8th,” Williams said.

The ruling will not create additional paperwork but will use more of the already gathered data to help track drug usage trends and alert doctors to a patient’s recent overdose history, which could affect treatment and save lives. 

“In 2022, according to the website, the ODH website, our statistics from Muskingum County are a little bit better. So they have dropped. They look at it by per 100,000 patient population. It dropped from 45 (deaths) down to about 38. So seeing that significant decrease in Muskingum County supports all the work that goes on through the community that focuses on the drug overdose crisis,” Williams said.

Fentanyl is the drug that leads to the most fatalities, which garnered it the most attention. Reporting all overdoses will help reveal the impact, usage and recognition of all the other, ‘non-fatal’ drugs, which involve overdose treatment.