Opioid Open Data Site

About the Program

Category: Information Technology (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

Oakland County, MI has made a significant investment of both time and dollars in geographic information systems (GIS) since the 1990s. We continually look for ways to expand the use of GIS and build on our existing investment. The Oakland County Health Division had a need with the ongoing national opioid crisis to be able to consolidate, share, and disseminate local data on the topic. Historically, the existing data was maintained in non-spatial databases, spreadsheets, and Word documents. Additionally, the sensitivity of the data played a significant role in identifying a solution that was effective at conveying the data yet maintained compliance with HIPAA privacy and security. Oakland County Information Technology (IT) worked with Health to identify the most effective presentation method for the opioid data and determined an “open data portal” was the best fit. The site is a combination of statistics, news, and topic specific, interactive maps for all public users to review opioid related data and local resources. The goal was achieved by exposing much of the locked-away non-spatial data in an easy to access and visually rich repository. The site went live in summer 2017 to help educate the public about the opioid epidemic, and provide them prevention, treatment and recovery resources. (http://accessoakland.oakgov.com/pages/oakland-county-opioid-initiative)