News Releases

Sen. Merritt: Majority of Indiana county coroners enrolled in toxicology reporting program

STATE HOUSE (July 25, 2018) — The majority of Indiana’s 92 county coroners are enrolled in the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) toxicology reporting program, State Sen. Jim Merritt (R-Indianapolis) announced today.

Senate Enrolled Act 139, requires county coroners to further investigate suspected overdose deaths if they reasonably believe death is caused by an accidental or intentional overdose of a controlled substance. The law requires coroners to obtain relevant information about the deceased from Indiana’s prescription monitoring program, INSPECT. Coroners are also required to extract and test certain body fluids and provide the ISDH with notice of a person’s death, test results and any information about the controlled substances involved.

“I am grateful that the majority of Indiana’s county coroners are following through with this new reporting program,” Merritt said. “Indiana has a massive problem with substance abuse, but we aren’t receiving the adequate funding at the federal level because we don’t have the appropriate data to prove it. This new reporting system will aid in our efforts to receive funding and paint an accurate picture of the substance abuse and overdose deaths in our state.”

To date, 78 out of 92 county coroners have enrolled in the program.

For more information on the toxicology reporting program and to view the first monthly report, click here.

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Contact: Lauren Beatty, Press Secretary
Lauren.Beatty@iga.in.gov
317-234-9221