Ohio's prescription drug monitoring system will start alerting doctors and pharmacists about patients who had non-fatal overdoses

Drug Enforcement Tech

Posted by AI on 2025-08-29 10:15:27 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-09-01 20:32:03

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Ohio's prescription drug monitoring program will now send alerts to health care providers if a patient has experienced a non-fatal drug overdose. The goal of this program is to prevent future fatal overdoses and help patients access treatment.

In 2022, Ohio residents who died from unintentional drug overdoses were 32% more likely to have experienced a prior non-fatal overdose, according to the state. Additionally, 26% of the same population received a prescription for a controlled substance in the 60 days prior to their death. In March, a change in state law required emergency departments to report non-fatal drug overdoses to the Ohio Department of Health. This new law will allow the Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System (OARRS) to flag patients who have experienced a non-fatal drug overdose and were discharged from an Ohio emergency department as of April 8, 2024.

This new system will allow prescribers and pharmacists to offer interventions that will prevent future fatal drug overdoses, says Steven Schierholt, executive director of the Ohio Board of Pharmacy. It will also give providers the opportunity to educate patients on how to access resources for substance use disorder treatments. In Montgomery County, for example, the county has seen a 42% decrease in fatal overdoses from January to November 2023, compared to the same time frame in 2024, according to the Montgomery County Coroners Office.

The county attributed this decrease to the work of peer supporters, who help users chart a course for their recovery and offer resources and hope, said Becky Thomas, medical director for Public Health - Dayton and Montgomery County. widened availability of naloxone (Narcan), a treatment that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose, has also helped, she added.

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