Using Local Toxicology Data for Drug Overdose Mortality Surveillance

Although Marin County ranks as the healthiest county in California, it ranks poorly in substance abuse indicators, including drug overdose mortality.1 Death certificates do not always include specific detail on the substances involved in a drug overdose.2 This lack of specificity makes it difficult to identify public health issues related to specific prescription drugs in our community. We analyzed 2013 drug overdose death toxicology reports to determine if they could improve the description of drug overdose deaths in our community and to describe associated data characteristics.

Objective

To describe the potential impact of using toxicology data to support drug overdose mortality surveillance.