Pennsylvania Opioid Settlement Data
About the Website
The data and information displayed on this website are solely the work product of the consortium of researchers from the Pennsylvania State University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Temple University (research consortium). This website is not the property of or affiliated with the Pennsylvania Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement Trust (“Trust”). The Trust is not responsible for the content or accuracy of any data and/or information and is not responsible for any decision(s) made based on such information.
Before going live, we consulted reporting contacts from all Counties and Litigating Subdivisions of Pennsylvania, as well as an advisory group consisting of members of the Pennsylvania Association of County Drug and Alcohol Administrators (PACDAA).
About the Settlements
- Pennsylvania is anticipated to receive over $1.5 billion over 18 years from August 2022 as part of nationwide settlement agreements with pharmaceutical companies, pharmacy chains and distributors.
- 15% of funds are allocated to the Commonwealth, 70% to Counties, and 15% to Litigating Subdivisions.1
- Entities receiving opioid settlement funds must use the funds within a specific time frame after receipt, with exact durations varying by payment source.
- Opioid settlement funds are intended to provide for remediation of the opioid crisis, and remediation programs funded through settlement allocations should include those listed in Exhibit E.
- For more details about the settlement terms and reporting requirements, please refer to the Trust’s website.
About the Reporting
- All Counties and Litigating Subdivisions of Pennsylvania are required to report on their remediation programs that use opioid settlement funds during the relevant Reporting Period for Trust approval.
- The Reporting Period is the time frame during which Counties and Litigating Subdivisions report their use of opioid settlement funds. The first Reporting Period for Counties was from August 1, 2022, to December 31, 2023. Reports are generated twice a year consistent with the schedule below.
- After reports are submitted, the Trust reviews all new remediation programs from the reporting period and votes on their compliance with Exhibit E during a public meeting.
- Remediation programs that have not been approved during a public meeting of the Trust can be appealed through the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC).
| Reporting Period | Approximate Due Date |
|---|---|
| January 1 – June 30 | September 15 |
| July 1 – December 31 | March 15 of the following year |
| Round | Reporting Period | Reporting Entity | Due Date | Trust Public Meeting Date(s) to Review Programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 1, 2022 – December 31, 2023 | Counties only | March 15, 2024 | May 2, 2024, June 20, 2024, August 22, 2024 |
| 2 | January 1, 2024 – June 30, 2024 | Counties only | September 16, 2024 | November 21, 2024, February 13, 2025 |
| 3 | July 1, 2024 – December 31, 2024 (Counties) August 1, 2022 – December 31, 2024 (Litigating Subdivisions) |
Counties & Litigating Subdivisions | March 17, 2025 | June 5, 2025, August 21, 2025 |
| 4 | January 1, 2025 – June 30, 2025 | Counties & Litigating Subdivisions | September 15, 2025 | TBD |
About the Data
- There are a variety of additional data sources that can be useful for monitoring the substance use landscape and for informing interventions to plan for policy efforts to address substance use concerns. The data reported on this website is just one of many available data sets to inform strategic policy making.2
- The research consortium collects data via a reporting tool sent to Pennsylvania Counties and Litigating Subdivisions receiving funds from the Trust. For more details on the distribution, spending, and reporting of these funds, please refer to the Trust’s website.
- This website only displays information on remediation programs that have been approved by the Trust. Non-compliant remediation programs that underwent an appeal and were ultimately approved are included. Remediation programs that are deemed non-compliant or still under consideration as of the last update date are not displayed. Please refer to the Data page to see the corresponding update dates.
Methodology
Data Collection from the Reporting Tool
- Details asked in the reporting tool:
- Remediation program name & managing organization
- Funds spent
- Funds committed
- Remediation program start date and duration
- Remediation program type as per Exhibit E List of Opioid Remediation Uses
- Alternative funding source(s)
- Whether the remediation program addresses any co-occurring substance use disorder or mental health (SUD/MH) conditions
- Supporting documentation
- Remediation program description
- Starting with the 3/17/25 Reporting Tool, two additional optional questions were added to the reporting tool to collect remediation program categorization and target population(s) receiving benefits/service from the program.
- Data were collected and managed using REDCap electronic data capture tools hosted at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine.3 REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) is a secure, web-based application designed to support data capture for research studies, providing:
- an intuitive interface for validated data entry
- audit trails for tracking data manipulation and export procedures
- automated export procedures for seamless data downloads to common statistical packages
- procedures for importing data from external sources
Data Changes
- After the Trust public meetings, we further incorporated formal data changes to the Reporting Tool data, which includes:
- Remediation program withdrawals/deletions
- Revisions to amounts spent/committed
- Revisions to remediation program descriptions
- DRC appeals
- Prior to going live, all Counties and Litigating Subdivisions were given 2 weeks to preview the website for accuracy and clarity of their approved remediation program information.
Data Visualization on Dashboards
- The data shown on the dashboards include funds spent and committed on remediation programs approved by the Trust and reflect data revisions confirmed by Counties and Litigating Subdivisions, such as program withdrawals and revisions to amounts spent/committed.
- The County dashboard shows program detail at the County level, and the Commonwealth-level dashboard shows combined data from Counties and Litigating Subdivisions. Note that the combined data does not include the 15% of opioid settlement funds distributed to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
- Dashboards are generated using an ESRI product called ArcGIS Dashboards. This product is a part of a broad ESRI ArcGIS package which includes multiple software products related to spatial analysis and data visualization. ArcGIS dashboards allows presenting various interactive data visualizations on a single screen. All elements on the dashboard are dynamically linked allowing users to focus on a particular data segment related to their community.
References
- Rhubart D, Chen Q, Sterner G, Newton R, Shaw B, Scanlon D. Conceptualizing and Measuring Abatement from the Opioid Epidemic: A Case Study from Pennsylvania. Milbank Q. 2022;100(4):991-1005. doi:10.1111/1468-0009.12589
- Chen Q, Sterner G, Rhubart D, Newton R, Shaw B, Scanlon D. Creating a robust coordinated data and policy framework for addressing substance use issues in the United States. Int J Drug Policy. 2024;134:104629. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104629
- Paul A. Harris, Robert Taylor, Robert Thielke, Jonathon Payne, Nathaniel Gonzalez, Jose G. Conde, “Research electronic data capture (REDCap) – A metadata-driven methodology and workflow process for providing translational research informatics support,” J Biomed Inform. 2009 Apr;42(2):377-81.
The data and information displayed on this website are solely the work of the research consortium. This website is not the property of or affiliated with the Pennsylvania Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement Trust (“Trust”). The Trust is not responsible for the content or accuracy of any data and/or information and is not responsible for any decision(s) made based on such information.
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