By Laura French
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh has launched an opioid overdose dashboard that uses EMS data to map overdose calls across the city.
The dashboard includes neighborhood-level mapping, patient demographic statistics, information on how often naloxone was administered and by who, and data on whether or not overdose patients were transported to the hospital.
“While this is a data-driven initiative, it’s really about using all the resources at the City’s disposal into giving our residents a helping hand. That means cross-department coordination, best practices in care and support, and now a Dashboard to help guide our work as effectively as possible,” Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto said in a statement.
Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said the dashboard will help EMS, fire and police responders better understand overdose responses in the city and guide the public safety department toward actionable solutions in addressing the opioid crisis.
The city’s Overdose Prevention Program Coordinator will partner with Pittsburgh EMS and the Allegheny County Health Department’s CDC-funded Data to Action program in using the data to strengthen overdose response, prevention and harm reduction efforts. In addition to the public dashboard, the city Office of Community Health and Safety will issue weekly reports to city staff and partner organizations, including healthcare, public health and harm reduction organizations, to help coordinate an equitable response to the overdose crisis and engage with community leaders in the city’s most impacted neighborhoods.
“In response to the worsening crisis, the Office of Community Health and Safety is committed to utilizing insights gained from improved data analysis to inform progressive opioid overdose prevention strategies that seek to reduce harm associated with drug use, employ a person-first approach, and address social determinants of health, said Office of Community Health and Safety Manager Laura Drogoswski, in a statement.