North Carolina’s Opioid Action Plan
By Penny Shelton
North Carolina, like so many other states in the union, has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic. Substance use disorders are killing individuals, devastating families and communities, and overwhelming law enforcement and healthcare providers, as well as outpacing available prevention and treatment services across the state. According to the NC Injury and Violence Prevention Branch with the NC Division of Public Health, from 2009 to 2017, there was a 100% increase (5,745 vs. 2,879) in opioid overdose emergency department visits. During the five-year time frame of 2012 to 2016, North Carolina’s statewide, unintentional opioid-related mortality rate was 9.2 deaths per 100,000 persons. In 2016, there were 1,518 opioid-related deaths. In addition, data from the NC Division of Mental Health, Controlled Substances Reporting System found the 2016 statewide dispensing rate for outpatient opioid pills to be 66.5
pills per resident. In 2016, there were 8,417,748 prescriptions for opioids dispensed in North Carolina. In 2017, there were 5,734 opioid overdose emergency visits, a 40% increase when compared to 2016. The majority of opioid overdose patients were Caucasian (85%), male (62%), and between 25-34 years of age (39%). In addition, the majority (68%) of the overdoses seen in the ED were due to heroin. The highest rates of 2017 opioid overdose ED visits occurred in Pamlico, Swain, McDowell, Haywood, Craven, Cabarrus, Vance, Buncombe, Rowan, Yad-
North Carolina Pharmacist
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kin and Stokes counties. It appears opioid-overdose ED visits are not trending down. North Carolina DETECT indicated 437 ED visits were due to an opioid overdose in January 2018, compared to 385 ED visits in January 2017. According to the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, there were 4,176 community-based opioid overdose reversals with naloxone in 2017. The majority of these reversals required only one dose. However, in January 2018, when the naloxone dosage amount was reported (n=137), 17.5%
Volume 99 Number 1 Winter 2018
