Overdose data to action in states: decreasing fatal and non-fatal overdoses in montana - between 2009 and 2020, 1,484 montanans died from a drug overdose, making IT the fourth-leading cause of…

Overdose data to action in states: decreasing fatal and non-fatal overdoses in montana - between 2009 and 2020, 1,484 montanans died from a drug overdose, making IT the fourth-leading cause of injury-related death in montana after motor vehicle crashes, firearm deaths by all intents, and falls. After declining for several years, drug poisoning deaths in montana increased from 11 deaths per 100,000 residents in 2017-2018 to 14 in 2019-2020. Opioids, especially synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, are a major driver of increased drug overdose nationally as well as in montana. Montana's opioid overdose death rate nearly tripled from 2.7 deaths per 100,000 residents in 2017-2018 to 7.3 in 2019-2020, which brings the death rate back to the former 'peak' seen in 2009-2010 and erasing a decade of progress. Montana has also struggled with methamphetamine use and sees increasing deaths due to psychostimulant use with or without the involvement of opioids. Our primary outcomes for our overdose data to action for states (OD2S) grant include: - increased timeliness and accuracy of surveillance data to improve drug overdose interventions. - greater awareness of opioid and other drug overdoses within the state, leading to increased preparedness and response at the local and state level. - decreased high-risk opioid prescribing and increased use of the full complement of evidence-based pain care modalities. - increased/improved health system and clinician capacity to provide care for OUD/stud. - increased linkages to care and engagement in care across the state. - increased equitable delivery and improved access to care/services, especially among pwud as well as those previously underserved by overdose prevention programs and the healthcare system. - reduced health disparities related to access to and receipt of care, including care for pain, especially among pwud as well as those previously underserved by overdose prevention programs and the healthcare system. Through the strategies outlined in our proposal, we plan to decrease opioid and stimulant use and misuse in montana, leading to fewer ED visits and opioid-related overdose deaths. Through the data-driven prevention initiative and overdose data to action collaborative agreements, we have had the opportunity to collect valuable surveillance data to inform evidence-based prevention and intervention, and through the OD2A-s, we plan to continue to enhance surveillance and put our "data to action" across montana. We will continue to expand use of essence and sudors information through nvdrs. We will continue to enhance our prescription drug monitoring program and increase our interstate interoperability. We will integrate state efforts of prevention and linkages to care into the communities and build clinician capacity to provide improved access to care and services for people who use drugs. We will continue to strengthen public health and public safety partnerships that were developed under the OD2A agreement. We will team up with regional partners to educate individual montanans and work to DE-stigmatize the act of asking for help and improve harm reduction services and linkages to care. We will continue to work closely with our partners working on other opioid-related grants such as state opioid response to leverage our efforts to best serve montana and combat the opioid epidemic in our great state.