Opioid overdose fatality review board to begin meeting Tuesday

(OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.) Attorney General Hunter announced the first meeting of the Opioid Overdose Fatality Review Board will be Tuesday, Jan. 29 at the Attorney General’s Office ‪at 1 p.m.‬ The Opioid Overdose Fatality Review Board was a key legislative recommendation last year by the Oklahoma Commission on Opioid Abuse. The 19-member board is comprised of state health agency heads, members of the law enforcement, legal and health care communities. Together, they will study causes of death due to prescription or illicit opioid use. The board will collect, analyze and interpret state and local data on opioid overdose deaths and develop a database. “Over the course of the meetings of the Commission on Opioid Abuse, it became apparent that a better emphasis on accurate data was needed,” Attorney General Hunter said. “More accurate data and information will allow us to properly identify where deaths are happening and what drugs individuals are using so we can deploy proper resources to specific areas. We will also be able to study each case and refer appropriate cases for criminal prosecution. I am grateful for the members, who are dedicating their time and talents to help us accomplish this mission.” After the bill became law last November, the Oklahoma Department of Health began forwarding copies of death certificates for adults, 18 and over, to the medical examiner. The medical examiner will review the death certificate in accordance with criteria established by the board and refer those specific cases to the board for review. The board will release an annual report on the causes of opioid overdose deaths that have been reviewed. The report will also include any recommendations needed to combat the crisis. See Tuesday’s agenda, here: https://bit.ly/2RR3jxc. See the legislation that created the board, here: https://bit.ly/2rgJ0dj.