The number of suspected opioid overdoses fell in Arizona for the second week in a row, but suspected fatalities spiked to the highest weekly number since the state started collecting real-time data. 

It’s been four weeks since state health officials started gathering data on suspected opioid overdoses and deaths. While non-fatal overdoses fell from 217 to 190 in the most recent week, the number of suspected opioid deaths more than doubled from 16 to 37.

State officials still need another month’s worth of real-time data to get a snapshot of the Arizona's opioid epidemic, said Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services.

“I would say it’s still several weeks off before we’re going to be able to start implementing interventions based off of that data,” Christ said.

State officials used to confirm an opioid related fatality by checking a person’s death certificate, which could take up to 10 months, Christ said. Now they’re trying to speed up the process by comparing medical records with lab results.