6/5/2017
PITTSBURGH, June 5, 2017 – The University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy Program Evaluation and Research Unit (PERU) and Pennsylvania Overdose Reduction Technical Assistance Center (TAC) recently launched the newly redesigned OverdoseFreePA.org website, which has been updated to reflect the changing scope of the opioid overdose crisis and the individuals it affects.
Funded by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, OverdoseFreePA is a one-stop-shop for resources that can help counties with education, intervention and treatment strategies to reduce overdose deaths.
“OverdoseFreePA has become a valuable resource for counties across Pennsylvania, so the website redesign focused on creating a better user experience,” said Jan Pringle, Ph.D., PERU director. “We also saw the need for the new ‘Messages of Hope’ section, which provides reassurance to individuals who are struggling with, or who know of someone struggling with, a substance use disorder.”
The website is home to a nationally recognized overdose death database and charting pages, which can be queried by selecting one or more counties at a time to produce demographic information, incidents by ZIP code, drugs found in deaths and trends over time. Also available are TAC-approved reports published by various agencies and a calendar of county-specific and statewide events.
The website showcases new partnerships with the DEA 360 Strategy, Pennsylvania Medical Society, Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association, Pennsylvania Psychiatric Society, The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Dental Association.