A prescription drug monitoring program in Ohio will now alert healthcare providers to patients who have a non-fatal drug overdose.

The Automated Rx Reporting System (OARRS) will alert healthcare providers as a way to improve care and promote access to medication for opioid use disorder and other tools to help prevent fatal overdoses.

Ohio hospitals are reporting data to OARRS via the Ohio Department of Health. The system will now flag for prescribers and pharmacists to any patient who experienced a non-fatal drug overdose and was discharged from an Ohio emergency room or facility on or after April 8. The alerts will only be available for OARRS system users and pharmacists.

"Data from state prescription drug monitoring programs, such as OARRS, continues to be an invaluable resource for healthcare providers," said Ohio Board of Pharmacy Executive Director Steven W. Schierholt. "With this alert, we are encouraging prescribers and pharmacists to engage with their patients and offer proven interventions that will prevent fatal drug overdoses in the future."

"The goal of this alert is to give us an extra chance to save someone's life," said Ohio Mike Governor DeWine. "The research shows us that people who have recently experienced a non-fatal overdose are at a higher risk to overdose again in the near future, and that they often have regular interactions with the healthcare system – including pharmacists and prescribers. This new alert system will be a valuable tool allowing our healthcare providers the opportunity to educate and offer treatment and prevention options to these individuals before a tragedy occurs."

OARRS is a statewide database created in 2006 that collects information on all prescriptions for controlled substances dispensed by pharmacies or furnished by prescribers in Ohio.

According to the Ohio Department of Health, of Ohioans who died in 2022 from an unintentional drug overdose, at least 32% experienced a prior non-fatal overdose. Of that group, 26% received a prescription for a controlled substance from a healthcare provider within 60 days of their fatal overdose.

DeWine recently announced new data from the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), which shows that Ohio experienced a 9% decline in the number of overdose deaths last year.