“The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced an agreement with Millennium Health, an accredited specialty laboratory, to combat the opioid crisis using near real-time drug testing data.”
“Millennium Health’s Emerging Threat Intelligence Program will donate data that includes regular reporting of drug use trends from definitive urine drug test results obtained from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and multiple medical practice types that can identify community level indicators of illicit drug use.”
“The de-identified and aggregate data will enable enhanced surveillance and analysis of emerging drug use trends, allowing officials to spot patterns and target drug use interventions…”
“Researchers highlighted the significant role that near real-time data could play in combating these trends.”
“’Nontraditional data sources, including urine drug tests, may provide a more timely estimation of emerging drug use prior to the reporting of drug overdose deaths. Earlier identification of these trends supports the development of targeted interventions to curb the effect of drug abuse on public health,’ the report authors said…”
“The new agreement with Millennium Health will give HHS access to timely data that can support the development of focused healthcare services at state and local levels. HHS expects that the collaboration will result in services that can prevent drug overdoses, reverse non-fatal overdoses, and engage individuals in treatment…” Read the full article here.
Source: HHS Using Real-Time Data to Help Combat the Opioid Crisis – By Jessica Kent, January 8, 2020. Health IT Analytics.
