New council will look at insurance data to analyze prescriptions for opioids

Gov. Chris Sununu smiles after signing an executive order creating the New Hampshire Opioid Overprescribing and Misuse Project Advisory Council. The council will look at insurance claims data to analyze prescribing patterns that could lead to substance use disorders. Behind the governor are, from left, John Barthelmes, commissioner of safety; Attorney General Gordon MacDonald; David Mara, the governor’s adviser on addiction and behavioral health; and Dr. Jay Schnitzer from MITRE, a data analytics company.

CONCORD — A new state advisory council will use New Hampshire insurance claims data to analyze prescribing patterns for opioids going back more than a decade, in an effort to prevent a future addiction crisis in the state.

Moments after Gov. Chris Sununu signed an executive order creating the New Hampshire Opioid Overprescribing and Misuse Project Advisory Council, the new group held its first meeting in the Executive Council chambers Thursday afternoon. “When you have one of the most serious public health crises to ever hit this state, every moment counts,” Sununu said.

Beyond the Stigma, a series exploring solutions to the state’s addiction and mental health challenges, is sponsored by the New Hampshire Solutions Journalism Lab at the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications and funded by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, NAMI New Hampshire, and private individuals. Contact reporter Shawne K. Wickham at swickham@unionleader.com. To read previous stories in this series, visit: unionleader.com/stigma.