Accurate reporting of U.S. opioid deaths: Level, type, temporal and geographical comparability

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Kadane, Joseph B.^{a; *} | Williams, Karl E.^b

Affiliations: [a] Department of Statistics and Data Science, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA | [b] Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, USA

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Joseph B. Kadane, Department of Statistics and Data Science, 232A Baker Hall, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. Tel.: +1 412 268 8726; E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract: The opioid crisis has put severe strains on the system through which deaths are analyzed and reported in the United States. Opioid deaths are expensive to investigate because they require autopsies and sophisticated toxicology. As the number of opioid deaths grow, the system, which was already stressed, became unable to cope with the increasing demand. This paper reviews the issues, and proposes a different way of thinking about the information required.

Keywords: Opioid, heroin, morphine, medical examiner, coroner, federal system, sampling

DOI: 10.3233/SJI-180451

Journal: Statistical Journal of the IAOS, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 539-542, 2018