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OAA outlines statewide substance-use data platform plan; staff report agency cooperation is the main hurdle
Summary
The authority described a state-funded project to build a cloud-based substance use disorder data analytics platform. Staff said a Gartner needs assessment is complete, initial phased releases are planned for summer and fall, and the primary challenge is getting state data owners to share records because of privacy and control concerns.
The Opioid Abatement Authority updated the board about a Commonwealth-funded plan to build a statewide substance use disorder data analytics platform and said the next steps focus on persuading data owners to contribute usable records.
Tony McDowell, executive director, told board members the General Assembly included $4 million in the current biennial budget for the Virginia Information Technology Agency (VITA) and the Office of Data Governance and Analytics (ODGA) to procure an enterprise, cloud-based analytics platform. McDowell said the platform’s purpose is to combine data held by state agencies and localities to answer operational questions such as which interventions correlate with reduced overdoses and where resources are most effective.
VITA and ODGA hired Gartner to run a needs assessment and published that report in February, McDowell said. The OAA played a role in the needs assessment and staff said there are two planned data releases: a basic set this summer and a second release in the fall. McDowell added the platform already has line‑item funding in the state budget.
Board members asked how the OAA would get access to agency data. Sheriff Joe Barron said mandatory reporting requirements could incent participation and asked whether a legal requirement to report could push the 25% of localities that are not participating to engage. McDowell said staff prefer voluntary cooperation and see legislation as a last resort, but acknowledged some agencies are reluctant because of personally identifiable information concerns: "The current challenge is getting all of the data owners to contribute their data," he said.
McDowell said the OAA is well‑positioned to operate or coordinate the platform and plans to form an advisory group to help set access and governance rules. Staff said the OAA has already contracted to support one staffed position in the DBHDS data platform and that some jurisdictions are modernizing their data feeds, which could be leveraged into the broader analytics work.
Staff asked the board to expect incremental progress and to plan for initial, limited data releases rather than a single comprehensive launch; the first limited release was described as expected in July with further releases in the fall.
