title: Sharing Overdose Data Across State Agencies to Inform Public Health Strategies: A Case Study.
abstract: Data sharing and analysis are important components of coordinated and cost-effective public health strategies. However, legal and policy barriers have made data from different agencies difficult to share and analyze for policy development. To address a rise in overdose deaths, Maryland used an innovative and focused approach to bring together data on overdose decedents across multiple agencies. The effort was focused on developing discrete intervention points based on information yielded on decedents' lives, such as vulnerability upon release from incarceration. Key aspects of this approach included gubernatorial leadership, a unified commitment to data sharing across agencies with memoranda of understanding, and designation of a data management team. Preliminary results have yielded valuable insights and have helped inform policy. This process of navigating legal and privacy concerns in data sharing across multiple agencies may be applied to a variety of public health problems challenging health departments across the country.
authors.affiliation: Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cherico-Hsii
authors.affiliation: Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bankoski
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Pooja
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Singal
authors.affiliation: Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Horon
authors.affiliation: Office of the Governor of Maryland, Annapolis, MD.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Beane
authors.affiliation: Office of the Governor of Maryland, Annapolis, MD.
authors.forename: Meghan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Casey
authors.affiliation: Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Behavioral Health Administration, Catonsville, MD.
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rebbert-Franklin
authors.affiliation: Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sharfstein
mesh_terms: D016208:Databases, Factual; D062787:Drug Overdose / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006077:Government Agencies / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D020408:Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D033181:Information Dissemination / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000379:methods; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D008396:Maryland / Q000453:epidemiology; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D013219:State Government; D014481:United States