CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources released its analysis of 2016 overdose data Tuesday, noting factors that contributed to the highest state overdose rate in the United States.
Among items included in the report, the analysis said 81 percent of people who died of an overdose interacted with at least one health system in 12 months prior to their death, and those who died were three times more likely to have three or more prescribers compared to the state Board of Pharmacy’s Controlled Substances Monitoring Program.
Thirty-three percent of those who died tested positive for a controlled substance but lacked any record regarding a prescription. Seventy-one percent of those died were more likely to be on Medicaid in the 12 months prior to their death compared to 23 percent of West Virginia’s adult population.
The analysis also found males were twice as likely as females to die from a drug overdose, although females were 80 percent more likely than to use health systems in the year prior to the death. Males in blue-collar industries with a higher risk of injury may also be at an increased risk of a fatal overdose.
“The report clearly identifies factors that we can now say contribute to the ‘profile of an overdosed person’ in West Virginia, highlighting opportunities for intervention in the 12 months prior to their death,” said Dr. Rahul Gupta, State Health Officer and Commissioner of DHHR’s Bureau for Public Health. “Governor Jim Justice has directed DHHR to utilize all available resources to combat this epidemic. Since the analysis shows numerous missed opportunities, we now need to use these data to target specific interventions to help save lives of West Virginians.”
DHHR, the state Board of Pharmacy and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention led the analysis process. According to the CDC, West Virginia’s overdose rate is 52 deaths per 100,000 people, the highest in the country.
Work on the report began in November and findings were announced during a December public meeting in Charleston. The analysis involved reviewing the death records of 830 West Virginians that died from an overdose, as well as medical service and government data.