INDIANAPOLIS —As part of the effort in battling drug overdoses statewide, the Indiana State Department of Health has now created a new website which will show where a life-saving overdose drug is distributed statewide.
The ISDH announced Thursday it had created the Overdose Prevention Therapy-Indiana, or optIN, registry which will allow various entities – ranging from health departments to pharmacies and correctional facilities to addiction treatment facilities – to register with the state as providers of naloxone, better known as Narcan, which has been used frequently in the last year to revive individuals who are in the midst of life-threatening drug overdoses.
Entities that register with the state must provide training in the use of naloxone, have a prescription from a physician in order to dispense it and provide a list of options for drug abuse treatment, per the requirements of the registry. Those entities will also report the number of naloxone doses they issue each year.
The creation of the registry was meant to support to various entities and encourage them to dispense naloxone to those at risk of a drug overdose, or their family and friends so they can be prepared to help if needed. Indiana ranked 16th in the United States in 2013 for drug overdose deaths.
Gov. Mike Pence signed into law earlier this year what is known as “Aaron’s Law,” which allows those in the healthcare community to provide naloxone to registered entities so it can be dispensed to people statewide without a prescription. It was named “Aaron’s Law” in honor of Aaron Sims, a 20-year-old Indianapolis resident who died in 2013 of a heroin overdose.
“Indiana knows all too well the toll that the national opioid epidemic is taking on communities and families,” said Dr. Jerome Adams, state health commissioner for the ISDH, in a statement Thursday. “By getting naloxone into the hands of emergency responders and lay people, we can save lives and give people who are struggling with addiction a second chance.
“Naloxone is proven to save lives, but it only works if people have access to it and know how to use it,” Adams continued. “This website makes it easy for Hoosiers to find a provider and get training so they are prepared to administer naloxone if someone close to them overdoses.”
Justin Phillips, mother of Aaron Sims, echoed just how important it is for naloxone to be available and in the hands of those who can help prevent tragic drug overdoses.
“Aaron’s Law is so important because it puts naloxone directly into the hands of families and caregivers and the individuals who are using opioids and heroin,” Phillips said in a statement Thursday. “Aaron’s Law would have saved Aaron, and I want to save others in his memory.”
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