PHILADELPHIA—The Health Department released four data reports that describe substance use and overdose in Philadelphia from 2022 to 2023. These reports show an evolving crisis with successes and new difficulties. In 2023, Philadelphia saw a 7 percent decrease in overdose deaths and preliminary data shows a further decrease in 2024. However, the 2023 decrease is not equally distributed. While there was a 15percent decrease in overdose deaths among non-Hispanic White people there was only a 5percent decrease among non-Hispanic Black people and there was a
2 percent increase among Hispanic people. In response to this, and other changes in the shape of the overdose crisis, the City’s response continues to evolve. From door-to-door outreach programs in affected neighborhoods to the distribution of testing strips and naloxone to environmental services programs that clear thousands of bags of trash in affected neighborhoods, the whole of the City is focused on this crisis.
“We didn’t get into the overdose crisis overnight, and we’re not going to get out of it overnight,” said Dr. Palak Raval-Nelson, Health Commissioner, City of Philadelphia. “Thanks to the hard work of our SUPHR division, partner agencies like the Overdose Response Unit, the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbilities Services, and the Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity, under the aegis of Mayor L. Cherelle Parker’s leadership, our 2023 reports show that we’re making real progress.”
Aside from the changing demographics of the overdose crisis, the drugs involved are changing. This crisis is characterized not only by fentanyl, but also stimulants. In 2023, 80 percent of all drug involved deaths involved fentanyl, 63 percent of all drug involved deaths involved cocaine, and 15percent involved a stimulant without any opioids. In addition, the introduction of the veterinary sedative, xylazine, which is associated with severe wounds, was involved in 38 percent of all overdose deaths in 2023, and always involved fentanyl. In response, the Health Department has instituted a wound care program and continues to work with area hospitals and treatment facilities to treat both wounds associated with substance use and substance use disorder.
As part of the City’s ongoing harm reduction work, the Health Department distributed over 100,000 doses of naloxone in 2023, almost doubling the 2022 distribution. As part of that distribution program, residents can get for free from the Health Department, as well as by prescription or over the counter at local pharmacies. In addition to naloxone, the Health Department has distributed more than 180,000 fentanyl test strips, and nearly 50,000 xylazine test strips. Free training on how to use these test strips, as well as how to reverse an overdose with naloxone, is available regularly. In 2023, the City conducted more than 230 trainings.
The Health Department works closely with medical providers, who are on the frontlines of the overdose crisis. More than 10,000 patients with opioid use disorder are seen every year in Philadelphia’s emergency departments. From 2017 to 2023, the number of unique prescribers who wrote prescriptions for buprenorphine increased nearly threefold to almost 1,500 prescribers.
“Medications for opioid use disorders, such as buprenorphine, save lives,” said Dr. Daniel Teixeira da Silva, Medical Director of the Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction (SUPHR) division of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. “I want to take the opportunity to remind all prescribers with a DEA license that you can prescribe buprenorphine to your patients. The x-waiver has been eliminated. And it is more important than ever that prescribers integrate buprenorphine prescribing into their practice.”
The Health Department released four reports today. First is SUPHR’s 2023 Annual Report that provides detailed analyses of various data sources that include the City’s Medical Examiner’s Office, prescription data, hospital admissions, emergency room visits, and emergency medical services. Second is SUPHR’s Harm Reduction Report that describes our work on the ground supporting communities impacted by drug use. Third is a CHART publication reporting on fatal overdoses in Philadelphia in 2023. And fourth are neighborhood graphics so Philadelphians can see how the overdose crisis is impacting their neighborhood.
All our reports are available on https://www.substanceusephilly.com, which also includes information about accessing overdose awareness and response trainings and harm reduction supplies.