Indiana will soon have some additional resources available to help prevent overdose deaths from prescription opioids. The state has gotten a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Prescription Drug Overdose: Prevention for States program. It aims to provide resources to help states fight prescription drug overuse, misuse, abuse, and overdose.
The program started last fall with 16 states. Now, it’s being expanded to 13 more, including Indiana.
The state plans to use its share of the funding to improve the INSPECT program run by the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, which monitors prescription drugs in Indiana. The grant will also help improve opioid prescribing practices in the state. Part of that effort involves a new partnership with the IU Fairbanks School of Public Health to evaluate prescribing practices. The funding will also be used to expand the Indiana Violent Death Reporting System, which will provide additional data for public health surveillance purposes.
