Key points
- The State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS) collects information on drug overdose deaths.
- Funded jurisdictions provide data for drug overdose deaths from death certificates and reports from medical examiners and coroners.
Overview
Drug overdose is a leading cause of death in the United States. CDC's Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) program aims to reduce drug overdoses and the impact of related harms. CDC funds 90 health departments through OD2A.
The State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS) is part of the OD2A program. SUDORS collects information about unintentional overdoses and overdoses of undetermined intent. These data come from—
- Death certificates
- Medical examiner and coroner reports, including autopsy reports
- Postmortem toxicology reports
Forty-nine states and District of Columbia provide these comprehensive data to SUDORS. The data are entered into a web-based CDC platform that is shared with the National Violent Death Reporting System.
CDC and funded jurisdictions use this information to develop prevention and response efforts.
Data dashboard
The SUDORS Data Dashboard presents information about overdose deaths—
- By drug or drug class
- By month
- By sex, age, and race and ethnicity
- With opioid or stimulant involvement (alone or in combination)
- With select drugs of interest detected
- With evidence of certain circumstances and potential opportunities for interventions
OD2A-States
Overdose Data to Action supports state and local health departments through the OD2A-States and OD2A-Local programs.
These jurisdictions use OD2A funding to—
- Collect data
- Use data to tailor prevention strategies
- Ensure culturally relevant and equitable prevention services
OD2A helps highlight the changing nature of the overdose epidemic. It also promotes the need for data-driven prevention strategies.