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In an effort to stem this rising epidemic, many government agencies have created programs and resources for local communities to combat and treat addiction. Treatment centers help people manage their addictions, become educated about the crisis or, in worst-case scenarios, offer naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses. Prescription drop-off locations also encourage people to dispose of unused opioids, instead of leaving them susceptible to overuse. Some states have created programs to monitor opioid prescription rates, in an effort to stop medical over- prescription before addictions can occur. But while all of these efforts have a role to play in combating the opioid crisis, no single tactic is enough to tackle such a widespread, complex epidemic. To effectively quell the opioid crisis, government and community health organizations must strategically orchestrate their programs to make sure resources are appropriately allocated and working in concert. A location-based strategy can help create that holistic approach. Organizations can use this six-step framework to integrate GIS into their tactics: Organize your data. Understanding all the variables that impact the opioid epidemic leads to a framework of understanding. Before directing or creating any new resources, it's critical to understand what's happening in your community today. While the opioid epidemic is a nationwide problem, the causes and symptoms are heavily localized. Whether it's a lack of adequate health or mental counseling or other community support systems, it's imperative that agencies determine what resources are lacking within their community before they begin applying tactics. GIS allows community leaders to gain an accurate picture of how and where overdoses and over-prescribing are occurring, as well as the impact opioids are having on those areas. Public health officials, human services, law enforcement and volunteers can gather information from disparate data sources, geo-tag that information and then combine it in a single dynamic map to understand the effects. Collect new data in real time. Moving from static data to a data-driven policy approach requires collecting and organizing "ground-truthed" information. In addition to data that is already collected, many organizations will find it necessary to create more data to inform their efforts. Using Esri mobile solutions, staff can easily collect additional field data such as overdose data, Narcan distribution, and not for profit program locations/ events to build a more complete picture of their community. A Framework to Combat Opioid Addiction The number of prescription opioids sold in the U.S. and the number of opioid related deaths have both quadrupled since 1999. Since then, over 165,000 people have died from prescription opioid overdoses. Responding to the Opioid Crisis with GIS 4 Mapped here are the changes in opioid prescription claims. Counties in purple experienced an increase in the percentage of opioid claims from 2013 to 2014 while counties in green witnessed a decrease.

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