Drug overdose deaths more than doubled between 2005 and 2016, according to the Commonwealth Fund’s 2018 Scorecard on State Health System Performance. In a new To the Point post, the Commonwealth Fund’s Susan Hayes, David Radley, and Douglas McCarthy compare state rates for deaths from drug overdoses, as well as alcohol abuse and suicide, using the most recently available data. The authors also highlight successful strategies for expanding access to opioid addiction treatment, which often rely on cooperation and engagement across the health care, social service, and criminal justice sectors.
