Data Collection, Sharing, & Analysis

Efforts to address illicit substance use and misuse may be hampered by gaps in information exchanges that prevent timely access to data that can help stakeholders make informed decisions. In many communities, public health, behavioral health, and public safety agencies are working together to appropriately link and integrate data sets that improve overdose tracking and early detection, inform interventions, and focus resources and treatment where they are needed most. They can also identify target populations where there may be gaps in resources to improve program planning and decision making. Data dashboards are a tool for combining and analyzing information from multiple sources and sharing it with a wide range of stakeholders. Dashboards make information on drug-related issues accessible (e.g., overdose deaths, emergency response calls, prescription rates) and allow users to create customized reports, tables, or maps.

Early communication of real-time drug toxicity and accurate understanding of death rates and the drugs involved in overdose deaths are essential components of planning cross-sector interventions. Strategic responses that include crime labs, coroners, and medical examiners can help improve the consistency of death investigation practices, toxicological analysis and interpretation of findings, and death certification reporting. Further, multiagency, multidisciplinary overdose fatality review teams share information on overdose deaths from all sectors and critically examine the information for trends, system gaps, and opportunities for collaboration. The case-specific, in-depth review provides context to the population-level information included in data dashboards.

The ability to track overdose events in real time can provide public safety, behavioral health, and public health officials with information that can make their responses more effective. Concrete information and data ensure that stakeholders make informed decisions about program operations, services, and activities based on objective evidence. Using data to support program planning and quality improvement also ensures that limited resources are used effectively and efficiently. Regular monitoring and review of data on program activities provide information on how the program is doing, how well it is performing, and whether it is achieving its intended goals and objectives, as well as provide stakeholders with the tools to identify problems and develop solutions.