Pennsylvania Ag Connection - Opioid Command Center on the Road in Philadelphia

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Opioid Command Center on the Road in Philadelphia
Pennsylvania Ag Connection - 07/18/2018

The Wolf Administration Tuesday hosted its third regional meeting of the Opioid Command Center at Temple University Hospital in North Philadelphia as part of the governor's continuing heroin and opioid disaster declaration.

"We are six months into the heroin and opioid disaster declaration and remain laser-focused on data collection and initiative implementation," Governor Wolf said. "The regional Command Center meetings allow us to share what we've collected about that region and the progress we've made, as well as to listen to the needs and efforts unique to this area."

The meeting was hosted by representatives of the Wolf Administration who lead the Opioid Command Center, including Dr. Rachel Levine, Secretary of the Department of Health; Jennifer Smith, Secretary for the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs; Ray Barishansky, Opioid Operational Command Center Incident Commander; Lt. Norman J. Cramer, Special Projects and Programs Commander, Pennsylvania State Police; and Gwendolyn Zander, Special Assistant to the Secretary, Department of Human Services. Various stakeholder groups from the five-county southeast region joined in the open discussion after the formal portion of the meeting.

Dr. Levine highlighted progress on several initiatives introduced since Gov. Wolf signed the first 90-day Heroin and Opioid Disaster Declaration in January:

- Expanded access to the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) to other commonwealth departments for clinical decision-making purposes. Numerous local and state departments have already gained access to the database, and neighboring states are now connected to Pennsylvania's PDMP.

- Prescribing guidelines for workers' compensation, bringing the total number of guidelines to eleven. Gov. Wolf announced the introduction of these prescribing guidelines yesterday.

- Waived fees for birth certificates for individuals with opioid use disorders, allowing them faster access to treatment and benefits. To date, 348 birth certificates have been expedited through this process to help get people into treatment faster.

- Added non-fatal overdoses and neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) as reportable conditions. More than 80 percent of hospitals and birthing centers in the state are now reporting more with 1,083 NAS cases reported to date. Note that some may be not be reporting because they have no cases, which is the preferred circumstance.

- Waived annual licensing requirements for high-performing drug and alcohol treatment facilities and have already seen 229 eligible facilities apply for and receive two-year licenses, ensuring continued, high-quality treatment for OUD sufferers.

The Opioid Data Dashboard was created to help the public gain access to information about what resources are available locally, and where those resources need to be deployed. The dashboard can be viewed here. In 2016, 38,046 individuals in the five-county region, which includes Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties, with opioid-use disorder were covered by Medicaid and 23,325 of those individuals were covered by Medicaid due to the expansion Gov. Wolf implemented, meaning that for many people this is the first time they were able to access treatment for addiction.

"We are making progress, but we need to stay the course and remain focused on the very important work of the Opioid Command Center to prevent addiction and help those suffering from substance use disorder into treatment and on the path to recovery," Dr. Levine said.

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