PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Health has activated an enhanced system to track nonfatal overdoses throughout the state daily and to alert community members in real time.
This system enhancement is part of the health department’s efforts to prevent overdoses and save lives through leveraging data, according to a news release. Previously, the department would send out community overdose alerts on a weekly basis after analyzing data from two sets: overdose-related emergency department visits and emergency medical services runs in Rhode Island.
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Now alerts can go out daily to first responders and other health care professionals, harm reduction organizations, local leaders and residents in affected areas. The department will also be able to monitor daily opioid trends statewide, regional hot spots and use of emergency medical care.
“The faster we can get overdose data to our community partners, the more effective their overdose prevention strategies will be,” said interim Director of Health Dr. Utpala Bandy. “Using data to inform action is a key strategy in our work to prevent overdoses and save lives in Rhode Island.”
While data on fatal overdoses is crucial to the state’s overall overdose prevention, it can take weeks or months to confirm fatal overdoses because of the complex toxicology testing that is often needed. But by tracking suspected nonfatal overdoses with this enhanced system, the health department can get information into the community almost immediately.
There are 11 overdose regions in Rhode Island based on past trends. Each region has its own overdose threshold based on the previous year of overdose data and overdose spike alerts, which were formerly known as Rhode Island overdose action area response public health alerts, or ROAARs, are sent out based on exceedances of these thresholds.
Along with daily monitoring of overdose activity, the health department has implemented a three-tiered approach to address increases in local overdose activity. The plan, called Levels of Response, uses public health strategies based on the overdose activity in a certain region. The levels range from an initial overdose spike, a sustained overdose spike or a sustained high rate of burden in that area.
If a region reports a sustained overdose spike or a sustained high rate of overdose burden, the health department will respond with more targeted notification in the area. This includes involving partners in the community for more outreach and convening an emergency community meeting. The burden rate also helps to inform funding priorities and program implementation.
To view this data, visit the health department’s Drug Overdose Surveillance Data Hub at health.ri.gov/od-data. To learn more about local drug overdose prevention resources, visit PreventOverdoseRI.org.
