​Prescription drugs and prescription drug abuse are driving an epidemic of overdose deaths that include the boundaries of Oakland County. Prescription drugs account for nearly 60% of all deaths from drug overdose, and pain relievers such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone are involved in 3 of every 4 prescription drug overdose fatalities.
Oakland County has developed a comprehensive partnership to create a coordinated, strategic action plan for reducing substance use and overdoses in our county. The partnership has a strong coalition of partners who have an active interest in preventing prescription overdose deaths. We will capitalize on using existing data sources to study fatal and nonfatal overdoses and serve as a mechanism to evaluate our interventions.