Fatality Reviews

A fatality review is a community planning process in which a multidisciplinary team of experts from various community systems and agencies convene to review the circumstances around potentially preventable deaths. These reviews involve a series of confidential death reviews to effectively identify system gaps and innovative community-specific prevention and intervention strategies. By conducting fatality reviews, jurisdictions begin to see patterns of need and opportunities across systems to develop program and policy recommendations to improve coordination and collaboration.

The Violence and Injury Prevention Section (VIPS) at the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) supports and provides technical assistance and resources to local partners across Ohio that are currently implementing or planning to establish Suicide Fatality Review (SFR) and Overdose Fatality Review (OFR) committees in their jurisdictions.

Effective September 30th, 2021, suicide and overdose fatality reviews were formalized in Ohio Revised Code (ORC) providing protections and information around immunity and confidentiality, guidelines for collecting and maintaining information, and requirements for annual reporting.

• OFR – ORC Sections 307.631 – 307.639
• SFR – ORC Sections 307.641 – 307.649
• Hybrid – ORC Section 307.6410

Resource: ‘An Introduction: Suicide and Overdose Fatality Reviews’

The following video will provide local partners across Ohio with an overview of the components of suicide and overdose fatality reviews, details on structure and establishment, legislation, processes, partners, and available resources and supports.

Overdose Fatality Reviews

Overdose Fatality Review Manual

ODH and local partners from across the state worked together to create robust guidance that can be used to ensure that important key factors are being considered when establishing and facilitating local OFRs in Ohio. View the Overdose Fatality Review Manual.

Overdose Fatality Review Annual Reporting Guidance

OFR committees shall establish systems for collecting and maintaining information and data points necessary for the review of drug overdose or opioid-involved deaths. OFR committees shall prepare and submit an annual report to ODH that includes data points and summary information from the previous calendar year. For guidance on annual report components and access to a REDCap submission link, view the Overdose Fatality Review (OFR) Annual Reporting Guidance. 

Suicide Fatality Reviews

Suicide Fatality Review (SFR) Manual

ODH and local partners from across the state worked together to create robust guidance that can be used to ensure that important key factors are being considered when establishing and facilitating local SFRs in Ohio. View the Suicide Fatality Review Manual.

Suicide Fatality Review (SFR) Annual Reporting Guidance

SFR committees shall establish systems for collecting and maintaining information and data points necessary for the review of suicide deaths. SFR committees shall prepare and submit an annual report to ODH that includes data points and summary information from the previous calendar year. For guidance on annual report components and access to a REDCap submission link, view the Suicide Fatality Review (SFR) Annual Reporting Guidance.