Pittsburgh officials are considering partnering with Johns Hopkins University to analyze the city’s prehospital buprenorphine program.
The city launched the program in November, allowing EMS personnel to administer the drug to patients experiencing opioid withdrawal. Hospitals and physicians commonly use buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder and opioid withdrawal, which is often experienced after naloxone is administered.
Pittsburgh is the third city in the nation to launch such a program, city officials said when the initiative launched.
Now, legislation in front of City Council would allow the city to share information about the program with the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University to evaluate the program’s success. The agreement would come at no cost to the city, according to Laura Drogowski, manager of the city’s Office of Community Health and Safety.
If the measure is approved, city officials would provide the university with historical data about overdoses and ongoing information about overdoses and prehospital buprenorphine use, Drogowski said.
“They’ll be looking at recurrence of overdose experience,” she said, explaining that the study would also look at how often patients connected with clinics that could provide help for overdose issues.
Council President Theresa Kail-Smith questioned sharing such personal information. Drogowski said the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act would cover protected health information, and she added that the city’s law department has approved the proposed partnership.
Kail-Smith abstained from a preliminary vote on Wednesday. Other council members present voted in favor of the legislation. Councilmen Bobby Wilson, Corey O’Connor and Bruce Kraus were not present for the vote.
City Council will likely take a final vote next week.
