Uniform Standards and Case Definitions for Classifying Opioid-Related Deaths: Recommendations by a SAMHSA Consensus Panel

• NCJ Number: 244605
• Journal: Journal of Addictive Diseases Volume: 32 Issue: 3 Dated: July-September 2013 Pages: 231-243
• Author(s): Bruce A. Goldberger, Ph.D.; Jane Carlisle Maxwell, Ph.D.; Anthony Campbell, RPh, DO; Bonnie B. Wilford, M.S.
• Date Published: July 2013
• Length: 13 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Health and Human Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Guideline
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article presents recommendations from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in opioid-related deaths.

Abstract

Deaths involving prescription and illicit opioids are on the rise, which is an issue of increasing concern to health care professionals, policymakers, and the public. However, because medical examiners, coroners, and other practitioners do not use uniform standards and case definitions in classifying such drug-related deaths, the incidence and prevalence data are challenging to analyze and difficult to interpret, and thus form a poor basis for crafting effective responses. To address this situation, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration convened a Consensus Panel and charged it with devising uniform standards and case definitions that can assist medical examiners, coroners, public health officials, and others in consistently distinguishing between deaths that were caused by a certain opioids and deaths in which such a drug was detected but was not a major cause of or contributor to the death. The consensus statement presented here incorporates the panel's recommendations in four key areas. Abstract published by arrangement with Taylor and Francis.