Overdose Death Review

Overview

On November 3, 2022, House Bill 220 (or Act 101 of 2022) was signed into law, authorizing the creation of county suicide or overdose death review teams and outlining the process for the establishment of these teams. 

A county, or two or more counties, may establish a suicide death review team, an overdose death review team, or both, for the purposes of collecting and examining suicide or overdose fatality information.  The goal of this information gathering is to improve community resources and systems of care in an effort to reduce suicide or overdose fatalities.

The following webpage provides information on the establishment and coordination of death review teams.  A section for frequently asked questions is included at the bottom of the webpage.

Establishment

A county may establish a county death review team or jointly with other counties. If a joint county death review team is established, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the participating counties is required to be executed by the multicounty team members.  The MOU shall contain information on team membership, staffing, and operations.

Upon establishment of a death review team, the death review team is required to notify the Department of Health.   

Membership Requirements

Act 101 requires death review teams be multidisciplinary and culturally diverse.  Professionals and representatives from organizations that provide services or community resources for families in the community are to be included among those death review team members selected.

Members of overdose death review teams and suicide death review teams are to be chosen from the categories outlined within Section 2128 (b) of Act 101.

Annual Report

A death review team is required to submit an annual report to the Department of Health.  In addition, this report is to be published on the local department of health’s or local government’s publicly accessible internet website.

Further information on what this annual report shall contain is outlined in the FAQ section.