New online portal tracks Hawaii’s ongoing drug crisis
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - As cases of fentanyl overdoses increase statewide, a new online resource is tracking the impact of drugs across the islands.
The state Department of Health recently launched a comprehensive behavioral health dashboard that shows real-time and long-term data about overdoses, substance abuse, and statistics related to mental health.
The University of Hawaii had a major role in creating the portal, which gathers data from more than a dozen organizations, including law enforcement.
Check out the new dashboard by clicking here.
“Law enforcement, first responders are often the first on the scene,” said Amy Curtis, an administrator for the DOH-Adult Mental Health Division.
“They’re having to handle the situation, look at it and they look at the data available, but they also want help.”
The statistics not only offer a clearer picture of drugs across the state, but identify areas where more help is needed.
“Where do we need to put those prevention efforts, where do we need to put those treatment efforts, what’s made a difference, what hasn’t?” Curtis said.
“As we put in different interventions, are we seeing those outcomes that we expected to? So it’s really to be able to use that in both ways and to be able to use it for providers as well as those academic researchers.
Copyright 2022 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
