Federal Grant Award Summary

RTI International (Research Triangle Institute) received a $636,838 Project Grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279) effective June 1, 2026, through March 31, 2029. The grant funds a comprehensive study to assess medical examiner and coroner (MEC) office practices for triaging suspected overdose death investigations and determining which cases receive toxicology testing. The research will develop a typology of existing triage practices across the estimated 2,000 U.S. MECs, examine organizational characteristics associated with different triaging approaches, and calculate national error rates for triaged overdose cases to identify how errors vary by toxicology testing typology and organizational factors.

This research directly addresses a critical gap in overdose mortality data collection, as current MEC triaging practices for toxicology testing are unstandardized and understudied despite being essential for accurate federal, state, and local policy and funding decisions. By evaluating whether current MEC triage strategies deliver complete and accurate mortality data necessary for effective public health monitoring, the project will provide evidence-based insights to improve the reliability of overdose death statistics and support more informed public health responses to the ongoing opioid crisis.