Pennsylvania System Tracks and Centralizes Drug Overdose Information

• NCJ Number: 251795
• Author(s): Michele Coppola
• Date Published: June 2018
• Length: 2 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2014-IJ-CX-K404
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Technical Assistance); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description; Instructional Material; Case Study

Annotation

This article describes the features and benefits of Pennsylvania's Overdose Information Network (ODIN), which is a statewide online system that tracks and shares information on drug overdoses, the administration of the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone, and investigative leads and markings for street drugs.

Abstract

ODIN was developed by the Pennsylvania State Police in coordination with the Liberty Mid-Atlantic High Intensity/Drug Trafficking Area (HITDA). Developed in March 2018, ODIN is a centralized information repository available to criminal justice agencies across the state. It supplements information being collected by the Pennsylvania Department of Health for other first responders and non-criminal justice agencies. The information in ODIN can be used by both law enforcement and health care agencies for the identification of areas with high levels of drug activity, thus facilitating the targeting of drug law enforcement efforts, as well as drug use prevention and treatment efforts. ODIN data include the location of naloxone administration, how many doses were administered, and what happened to victims after they received naloxone. Any distinctive markings on drug packaging can be entered into ODIN. Criminal justice agencies can search the system to determine whether any other agency has drug investigations with similar characteristics, so incidents can be linked.