SPRINGFIELD – A career-long advocate for people struggling with substance use and mental health challenges, State Senator Laura Fine is leading a measure to strengthen reporting standards for opioid overdoses and protect patient confidentiality.

“Local health departments in the Chicago area benefit from gathering data on overdoses in their community,” said Fine (D-Glenview). “But opioid-related overdose can impact any community, and all public health departments need access to vital overdose data in order to ensure emergency services are able to respond as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

Currently, Illinois law only requires Chicago EMS providers to report overdose information using the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program (ODMAP) tool. This free web-based tool provides the most up-to-date suspected overdose surveillance data to support public safety and health efforts.

Expanding on these existing requirements, Fine’s bill would ensure all municipalities – not just Chicago – report overdoses using the ODMAP, and would expand the list of providers to include paramedics, advanced practice registered nurses and prehospital physician assistants. It would also require the Illinois Department of Public Health to work with stakeholders to utilize overdose data collected by EMTs to identify areas of need and bolster harm reduction efforts. Fine’s measure would work to strengthen patient protections to ensure ODMAP data is used to guide public health strategies, not for law enforcement purposes.

“All municipalities can benefit from understanding how the opioid crisis is specifically impacting their community,” said Fine. “By ensuring opioid overdose data is handled properly and is used to guide public health strategies, Illinois communities can better serve vulnerable residents as well as future generations.”

House Bill 3645 passed the Senate Behavioral and Mental Health Committee on Wednesday.

###