SAMHSA develops Metro Briefs on drug-related statistics across the nation

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has developed a series of Metro Briefs providing detailed statistical snapshots of drug- related visits to hospital emergency departments occurring in 11 metropolitan areas across the nation. This series of briefs is based on SAMHSA's Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), a public health surveillance system which collects data from nationally representative emergency departments participating in the program.
 
Each brief provides a wide range of information about the nature and scope of drug-related admissions in a metropolitan area through a variety of charts, graphs and accompanying text. This information includes:
 
‧ Comparative data on the level of drug-related emergency department visits occurring within the metropolitan area and the nation as a whole
‧ Key demographic patient characteristics such as gender and age 
‧ Breakdowns on the substances of abuse involved in the emergency department visits
‧ Information on the levels of emergency department visits involving drug- related suicide attempts  
‧ Data on emergency department visits involving underage drinking
 
These briefs were developed by SAMHSA as part of its strategic initiative on data, outcomes, and quality - an effort to create integrated data systems that help inform policy makers and providers on behavioral health issues.