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LANSING, Mich. (AP) – Authorities said the number of opioid deaths increased by about 9 percent last year in Michigan.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday that 1,941 of the 2,729 overdose deaths in 2017 were related to opioids. There were 1,786 opioid-related deaths in 2016.
The state notes a steady increase in the number of overdose deaths in the past three years.
Opioids include heroin, prescription opioids and non-pharmaceutical fentanyl. The state now includes opium and narcotics not specified in its definition.
Efforts to address the epidemic include providing online resources to patients, health workers and communities; an automated prescription system to improve a patient's drug risk assessments; and drug recovery sites.
Last year, the department issued a standing order authorizing pharmacists to distribute naloxone, a drug that can be used to reverse overdose, to eligible individuals.
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