 Workit Health, a virtual substance use disorder treatment provider, expanded March 7 to Indiana. This clinic offers all virtual services for substance use, mental health and other common co-occurring conditions, such as hepatitis C. Hoosier patients can communicate with licensed clinicians and counselors via live chat and video through the Workit Health app and receive medication e-prescribed to their local pharmacies. The idea of virtual substance abuse treatment is a convenient and accessible approach to quality care and treatment and aims to reach patients who otherwise would not have gotten help.
 According to provisional data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on March 16, an estimated 105,752 people died of a drug overdose in the 12-month period ending October 2021. About two-thirds of those deaths involved synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl. Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are on the rise, creating a surge in drug overdose deaths not only in Indiana, but across the United States. The number of overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids has nearly doubled over the past two years. Nationwide, about 15,000 more people died of drug overdoses in 2021 than in the previous year, a 16% increase.
 Please visit the Indiana Drug Overdose Dashboard, where you will find data from 2017 up to provisional data for 2021. In this dashboard, you will find data regarding opioid prescriptions, hospital discharges, and drug-related deaths.
|
