Drug Overdose Prevention
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Overdose Fatality Review Teams
Overdose Fatality Reviews (OFR) and Public Health and Safety Teams (PHAST) are two separate, companion models used by a growing number of communities across the country to strengthen their response to the overdose epidemic.
- Overdose Fatality Reviews are confidential meetings in which a diverse group of stakeholders collaborate to share data and study the death of a specific individual to identify gaps in the system that could have saved that person's life.
- Public Health and Safety Teams are partnerships between public health officials, law enforcement representatives, and other groups dedicated to preventing overdose deaths. PHAST teams are well positioned to perform OFRs.
The following video describes how OFRs and PHASTs can work together:
Because the same guiding principles apply to both OFRs and PHASTs, any jurisdiction conducting one should consider implementing the other to gain a greater understanding of the local crisis, system-level factors that contribute to fatal overdoses, and opportunities for prevention.
OFRs in Minnesota
An evaluation of previous OFRs conducted in Minnesota by 10 community-based organizations identified many successful outcomes, including:
- An increased appreciation for the in-depth fatality review model as a prevention tool to identify opportunities for intervention.
- The development and maintenance of increased connections between healthcare, prevention, and public safety professionals.
- An expanded understanding of the diverse array of prevention strategies that can reduce substance misuse and overdose.
To learn more about past overdose fatality reviews conducted in Minnesota, as well as their successes and recommendations, you may read the full report on Overdose Fatality Reviews in Minnesota (PDF).
Minnesota OFR State Advisory Workgroup
The mission of the new OFR State Advisory Workgroup is to reduce overdose fatalities in Minnesota by supporting OFRs and the recommendations of local multi-disciplinary teams.
This group seeks to:
- Promote the enhanced framework as a tool for local communities to address the overdose epidemic.
- Receive, evaluate, and implement state-level recommendations from local teams.
- Address data sharing barriers in understanding the circumstances leading to fatal overdoses.
- Contribute to the development of legislation for funding OFRs in Minnesota.
The Advisory Workgroup will be made up of members who represent a relevant field, provide a contributing perspective, and commit to preventing future overdose deaths. The workgroup will maintain representation from the following state agencies: Department of Health (MDH), Department of Corrections (DOC), Department of Human Services (DHS), and Department of Public Safety (DPS).
Start Your Own Review Team
MDH has developed an OFR Implementation Guide (PDF) to provide an overview of what overdose fatality reviews entail, how to facilitate review meetings, and why this enhanced framework will help you manage a review team. This guide was produced in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR).
To review a helpful checklist of what you need to start a review team, visit OFR Tools: Launch Your OFR.
Training and technical assistance (TA) is now available to support new and existing OFR initiatives. To get in touch with MDH, please fill out this OFR TA Request Form.
Recordings of past trainings are now available.
Other available resources include:
- PHAST and OFR
- PHAST Toolkit
- OFR Resource Library
- Local Public Health Guide to Spending Opioid Settlement Funds
- This MDH guide provides advice for spending county/municipal opioid settlement funds to form OFR teams.
MDH is available to support new and existing OFR initiatives through training and technical assistance. To contact the MDH Injury and Violence Prevention Section’s OFR and PHAST subject matter experts, please fill out this OFR TA Request Form.
MDH invites and encourages participation by all. If you need an ASL, a non-English language interpreter, or other physical accommodations, or need documents in an alternative format (such as braille or large print), please email your request to the Overdose Prevention Unit at health.drugodprev@state.mn.us.
To stay informed about Overdose Prevention, sign up for the MDH Overdose Prevention Update. To find the most recent statewide drug overdose and substance use data, please visit the MDH Drug Overdose Dashboard.