Bill would give county medical examiners a new tool to decrease drug-related deaths in Michigan
LANSING, Mich. (May 11, 2021) — State Sen. Sean McCann (D–Kalamazoo) today introduced a bill to allow county medical examiners or health officers to establish a Drug Fatality Review Team (DFRT) in an effort to reduce overdose deaths by better understanding risk factors, trends, and more related to them.
“Michigan’s opioid epidemic is an ongoing public health crisis, and one that some studies show became worse during the COVID-19 pandemic over the past year,” Sen. McCann said. “I want to give Michigan’s medical examiners and community stakeholders every opportunity to contribute their expertise to the fight against heroin, prescription opioids, methamphetamine, and other novel drugs.”
A DFRT is a collaborative effort of community stakeholders, including the county medical examiner, county health officer, first responders, law enforcement, health care professionals, and others.
Senate Bill 436 would provide county medical examiners the legal authority to create this team and conduct its work, as well as provide them the ability to grant appropriate confidentiality protections for the victims involved. State law already includes similar allowances for elder death review and child death review.
“Eighty-three percent of drug-related deaths in Southwest Michigan involve at least one opioid. A Drug Fatality Review Team would give us a critical new tool to analyze drug overdose deaths and enhance the work being done to prevent future deaths,” said Joyce L. deJong, DO, Medical Examiner and founding chair of the Department of Pathology of Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine. “This team could also help identify the appearance of novel drugs and notify frontline responders about emerging trends — actions that will undoubtedly save other lives.”
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