More states should publicly share via dashboard the full set of measures to demonstrate to their constituents, including people with OUD and their loved ones, a commitment to creating a high functioning treatment system that keeps people alive and on a path of recovery. Promoting a common understanding of a treatment system’s strengths and gaps can guide efforts to increase access and improve outcomes.
States can report the core OUD treatment measures many already collect in a user-friendly way by either integrating the measures into their existing opioid dashboards or following Alabama’s lead and creating a separate dashboard to report the measures.
Many of the states sharing the data focus on the Medicaid-enrolled population. However, states with all-payer claims databases, which centralize information from at least some of the commercial insurers operating in the state, can also include data on treatment for people with this type of coverage to provide a more comprehensive picture. For example, New Hampshire reports the OUD diagnosis rate for both Medicaid and commercially insured populations.
Although Pew found that only a few states report on any core OUD treatment measures in their dashboards, many reported other relevant measures that could also help improve a state’s treatment system. For example, a non-exhaustive review of state opioid dashboards found that at least 11 states report on opioid-involved emergency department (ED) visits. Although not a core OUD treatment measure, this information is critical to tracking a state or county’s overdose rates and locations as well as understanding how many people are in contact with EDs, which could serve as an opportunity to engage patients in further care. Adding the core OUD treatment measures to these dashboards would help these states understand how many people receive follow-up care after they visit an ED, and how well the related treatment system they enter is performing.
Disaggregating data makes it actionable
When states disaggregate, or break out, their data by geography or demographic factors such as race and ethnicity, they make it possible to develop targeted solutions to meet the needs of diverse populations.
Ohio has done that by reporting five critical OUD treatment measures—including diagnosing OUD, assessing for substance use disorder using a standardized screening tool, using pharmacotherapy for OUD, continuing pharmacotherapy for OUD, and following up after an ED visit for OUD—at the county level. Doing so allows local decision-makers to act on this data. As Ohio Governor Mike DeWine noted after expanding the dashboards to the state’s 88 counties, it “provides invaluable data that will allow local organizations and communities to better plan for their needs as they battle this public health crisis in our state—and ultimately save lives.”
And although North Carolina does not report the core OUD treatment measures in their dashboard, it does share relevant data such as overdose deaths disaggregated by race and ethnicity. The dashboard also includes a county-level breakdown of overdose deaths by race and ethnicity. Such reporting of data by demographic factors can help inform efforts to ensure equitable access to treatment for people with OUD.
Other states should follow Ohio and North Carolina’s lead and strive to report the core OUD treatment measures with a geographic and demographic breakdown in an accessible manner. Without this information at hand, state and local decision-makers cannot make informed decisions to effectively target resources and improve treatment for people with OUD.
Methodology
To conduct this analysis, the research team reviewed publicly available, regularly updated interactive dashboards. (Static sources such as PDF files were excluded.) The team identified state dashboards using the Carolina Center for Health Informatics or a Google search. Results were verified by state behavioral health and Medicaid agencies between April and August 2023. After several outreach attempts, the research team had received responses from all states except Alaska, Iowa, South Carolina, and West Virginia.
Vanessa Baaklini is a senior associate and Frances McGaffey is an associate manager working on The Pew Charitable Trusts’ substance use prevention and treatment initiative.