Arizona Saw Over 900 Opioid-Related Deaths In 2017

A total of 949 overdose deaths last year were due to opioids as the primary cause of death, according to the newly released 2017 Arizona Opioid Emergency Response Report.

Arizona has experienced a 20 percent increase opioid-related deaths when compared to the 800 that occurred in 2016.

Findings:

The number of heroin deaths accounted for 36 percent of opioid-related deaths.

Opioid deaths among men have historically been higher than women, and are continuing to increase at a faster rate.

The percent of patients receiving referrals to behavioral health or substance abuse treatment services after an overdose has increased from 45% in June 2017 to 73% in May 2018.

The number of naloxone prescriptions dispensed by pharmacists has more than tripled in recent months. July – September 2017, fewer than 900 naloxone kits were dispensed each month.

In May 2018, 3,498 kits were dispensed to the public.

The number of opioid prescriptions filled declined 40% between June 2017 and June 2018.

The number of opioid pills dispensed decreased 43% between June 2017 and June 2018.

The 4 & 4 report is a list of patients who have obtained controlled medications from 4 different doctors and 4 different pharmacies in a given month. There has been a 62% decline in the number of patients on this report – from 99 in July 2017 to 38 in June 2018.

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