Opiate trends across Washington state: First treatment admissions
Treatment data from the Washington State Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery: Rates (per 100,000 residents) reflect publicly funded treatment via outpatient, intensive inpatient, recovery house, long-term residential, and opiate use disorder treatment medication modalities, for which the primary substance is listed as heroin, oxy/hydrocodone, prescribed opiate substitute, non-prescription methadone, or other opiate. Department of Corrections treatment excluded. "First admission" means no prior publicly funded treatment for any drug, regardless of modality, is found for the individual. Records go back to approximately 2000.
First time admissions may be an indicator of incidence or new users. Treatment admission rates depend on users identifying and acting upon a need for treatment and the availability of treatment. The growth in admissions in a particular county may thus be due to a growth in users, public health outreach to get more users into treatment, an increase in the number of available treatment slots, or some combination of all these factors.
Publicy funded first treatment admissions for all opiates: Most counties doubled their rates
Data sources: Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (admissions), state Office of Financial Management (population)
First time heroin admissions versus prescription-type admissions over time
This chart allows you to compare the share (among opiate subtypes) of heroin versus prescription-type or other opiates, by county, over time. The size of the bubble is the overall rate of first-time admissions for all opiates. A bubble above an imaginary 45° line from the origin (lower left) means more than half associated with heroin. A bubble on the horizontal axis means all prescription-type. You can select one or more counties to focus on before clicking the play button (lower left) to watch how that county and others changed over time. Select STATE to see how county rates compare with the state-wide rates.
First treatment admissions comparison by primary opiate category over time, by Washington county
Data sources: Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (admissions), state Office of Financial Management (population)
Publicy funded first treatment admissions for heroin: 36 counties saw increased first-time admission rates between 2002-04 and 2013-15
Data sources: Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (admissions), state Office of Financial Management (population)
Publicy funded first treatment admissions for prescription-type opiates: Growth in most counties, particularly in rural areas
Data sources: Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (admissions), state Office of Financial Management (population)
Yearly trends in first admissions statewide
Data sources: Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (admissions), state Office of Financial Management (population)
Using our interactive charts
