Accidental overdoses killed 8 people a day in Ohio last year

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Accidental drug overdoses killed 3,050 people in Ohio last year, an average of eight per day, as deaths blamed on the powerful painkiller fentanyl again rose sharply and pushed the total overdose fatalities to a record high, the state reported Thursday.

Officials concede the problem has grown in Ohio and elsewhere but expressed hope of making headway, citing progress in expanding access to life-saving naloxone and curbing prescription opiate abuse.

State officials said their strategies to tackle the problem during the next year include working with lawmakers to stiffen penalties for illicit fentanyl sales and make it easier to establish opiate treatment programs.

The state is also integrating an automated prescription reporting system into more electronic medical records and pharmacy dispensing systems to cut down on doctor shopping by addicts.