The number of overdose deaths from opioids in Utah appears to be decreasing

Opioid-related overdose deaths declined by nearly 20% last year in Utah, according to data released Monday by state agencies.

The prescribed opioids were responsible for the majority of deaths in 2017, killing 237 of the 360 ​​Utahns who died from either opioid analgesics or heroin. As a result, much of the state intervention has focused on the prescribing behavior of physicians.

State officials will follow this behavior more closely with the new real-time monitoring software, designed to show health and law enforcement officials where opioid-related deaths are "in the process of becoming regroup, "said Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, who announced the figures for 2017 press conference Monday.

"We will be able to see doctors over prescribing very quickly," said Cox.

The monitoring will also show more quickly which communities are disproportionately affected.

"We have some counties where there is more than [opioid] prescriptions that people, "said Cox, although he did not identify these counties.

The state's Commerce Department, which oversees licensing of health professionals, has hired an additional investigator to focus on high-dose opioid prescriptions, said Francine Giani, executive director of the department. . It also updates its database of controlled substances with alerts to doctors and pharmacies "where a potential problem exists with a patient", and a dashboard allowing doctors to compare their "behavior of prescription "to those of other health care providers, according to a press release published by Barreur.

The state is also distributing and training doctors to use naloxone, a drug that quickly blocks the effects of opioids, said Ann Williamson, executive director of the state's Department of Human Services. .

At the same time, said Williamson, the number of DHS clients in addiction treatment increased by 31% last year.

"As a state, we have actively participated in the reduction of opioid abuse," said Williamson.

Last year, Utah's third year in a row saw a reduction in the number of prescription opioid deaths, according to a Cox news release. But this is the first time in six years that the number of deaths from heroin is decreasing, he said.

However, statistics released on Monday also showed that the number of opioid-related deaths increased each quarter in 2017 and that the first quarter of 2018 had more deaths than any other quarter of the previous year.

Overdoses of opioids were more common among men than women in 2017, although women overall experienced more drug overdoses, according to state data.