Bill > HB2168

This bill aims to improve overdose prevention by facilitating the rapid sharing of overdose mapping information. It establishes a new section within chapter 43.70 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) that requires the department to submit information about fatal and nonfatal opioid overdoses, including the date, time, location, and whether overdose reversal medication was administered, to an "overdose detection mapping application program" (a system for tracking overdose incidents) within 24 hours of a patient care report being submitted to the Washington emergency medical services information system. This data sharing is intended to help identify areas with spikes in overdose activity, allowing for targeted outreach, risk reduction strategies, public education, and the provision of treatment and support services, while explicitly prohibiting the use of this information for law enforcement or immigration purposes and ensuring individual privacy is protected. The bill also amends RCW 70.168.090 to ensure that data collected by the statewide electronic emergency medical services data system, which includes information on suspected drug overdoses, can be shared with the overdose detection mapping application program as outlined in the new section, while maintaining confidentiality of individual patient data except as provided in the new section.