Tuesday, DECEMBER 6

Changes in the drug supply and trends in substance use call leaders to be agile in the face of increased risks for overdose. Solutions that previously worked have grown stale. This panel of experts will brief NOPLS participants on the current state of the overdose crisis and surface life-saving strategies from multiple disciplines, including medicine, public policy, and philanthropy.

The Veterans Affairs Hospital System has accomplished big sweeping harm reduction strategies and changes across its complex health system. Dr. Liberto, VA National Mental Health Director for Substance Use Disorders, will describe strategies for changing provider behaviors and mindsets to remove systemic barriers to medication assisted treatment of opioid use disorder. Dr. Oliva, implementation science expert, will share tools and resources that drive life-saving systems changes, including the integration of safe syringe programs and use of fentanyl test strips.

A collaboration of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Kentucky in Lexington and the University of Florida, the Opioid Data Lab engages data scientists with pain patients and people who use drugs to answer questions with real life implications. Dr. Dasgupta will describe the scientific process and impact that his team brings to the analysis of street drugs. The Opioid Data Lab sees changes in the drug supply at the molecular level and leverages these insights to raise a flag for prevention and treatment partners to adjust their course of action before treatment options fail.

Building on the plenary session with Dr. Dasgupta, participants will have the opportunity to take a deep dive in discussion to unpack specific opportunities to use lab data in clinical and public health settings. Questions that emerge during the plenary session will be discussed as Dr. Dasgupta and session participants explore what is possible when lab data is leveraged to inform clinical and program decision making.

The CDC has developed a set of five strategic priorities for overdose prevention that focus on data surveillance, capacity building, support for providers, cross-sector collaboration, and stigma reduction. For each of these priorities, quality, timely, and accessible data is needed to better understand and respond to the overdose crisis, particularly as it relates to tracking the effectiveness of interventions and system-level changes. A set of consistent, standardized measures to be utilized across initiatives would enable communities to demonstrate impact and tailor overdose prevention interventions. To this end, The CDC Foundation is hosting engagement sessions at the National Overdose Prevention Leadership Summit to engage partners from diverse perspectives to inform the selection of overdose prevention performance indicators and to shape the development of a toolkit. Please see one-pager with more information on the project.

Evaluations that use Point in Time Surveys to gather data on harm reduction services reveal critical information and insights that guide program decisions based on participants experiences with overdose, drug use, and access to services. Learn how the California Harm Reduction Initiative uses Point in Time Surveys with grantees and participants in the state’s syringe services programs to guide policy and advocacy efforts and support service improvement and expansion.

Collaboration with local officials across multiple systems drives systems change. This session will spotlight innovative work at the San Diego County District Attorney Office in partnership with local officials that are committed to preventing overdose and saving lives. District Attorney Summer Stephan will share experiences and leadership strategies that create change.

The Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program (ODMAP) links first responders and relevant record management systems to a mapping tool to track overdoses across to stimulate real-time response and strategic analysis across jurisdictions. Public safety and public health providers use ODMAP to respond to spikes in overdose events. Participants in this discussion will develop knowledge of ODMAP and practice using the application to address a scenario-based cross-jurisdictional response. Participants will also walk away with charting a response to the overdose epidemic through leveraging public health and public safety partnerships.

Populations at risk of death by overdose have expanded significantly due to the inclusion of fentanyl in benzodiazepines, stimulants, and pain pills. No longer is the risk associated primarily with frequent drug users. Counterfeit medications laced with fentanyl pose a direct threat to anyone that might purchase pills on the street or consume a pill from a friend or neighbor. Nora D. Volkow, MD, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health will address the surge of deaths by overdose and shed light on priorities for drug abuse and addiction research findings to counter these increased risks.