DSHS Launches Statewide Fentanyl Data Dashboard

Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott announced the launch of the Texas fentanyl data dashboard by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) as part of the state’s “One Pill Kills” campaign.

The campaign looks to combat the growing fentanyl crisis impacting the state; last October, Abbott directed state agencies to work together to raise awareness about the drug’s lethality and prevalence.

“More than five Texans die every day from deadly fentanyl, and Texas continues to ramp up our efforts to combat the growing fentanyl crisis plaguing our state and the nation,” Abbott said in a release. “Texans must come together to raise awareness of this deadly opioid to our family, friends and communities, and the data published on this website will help Texans lead the fight against this deadly drug.”

DSHS, which manages all state death certificates, uses that information to populate the dashboard, highlighting all fentanyl and other drug poisoning-related deaths. The dashboard was built using Tableau.

According to a release from the governor’s office, DSHS will update the dashboard four times a year. So far, it shows a nearly sixfold increase in fentanyl and other drug poisoning-related deaths — from 317 in 2019 to 2,161 in 2022. The 2022 data is preliminary.

“Measuring a problem is an important step in understanding and improving it,” said DSHS Commissioner Jennifer Shuford in a release. “DSHS is in a unique position to analyze and share information about fentanyl-related deaths as part of Gov. Abbott’s One Pill Kills campaign. I hope making this data easily accessible will allow Texas experts and leaders to continue to craft solutions to this deadly crisis.”

The platform joins eight other dashboards on DSHS’ Texas Health Data website, which showcases information related to opioid-related emergency room visits, overall drug-related deaths and student surveys on drug and alcohol use.

More information about the Texas fentanyl data dashboard can be found online.