Addressing Fentanyl ODs in Vancouver

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r/vancouver is my go to place for all the local news. A recent post gave me a huge jolt. 9 people had overdosed on drugs in a single night. Drugs such as heroine and cocaine are being increasingly cut with fentanyl to increase their potency. As the amount of fentanyl can vary from batch to batch, a “safe” dose could easily cause a user to overdose.

As a reactive measure, the civic authorities have started programs to educate users and the general public about fentanyl, signs of an overdose and safety precautions. At-risk users are also given a Naloxone/Narcan kit for free, which counteracts the effects of the drug.

(BC Coroners service)

Clearly there has been a downward trend over the latter half of 2016 ever since a public health emergency was declared in April. As of October 27th, 2600 Naloxone kits have been distributed by Vancouver Coastal Health. Additionally, the Provincial Health Safety Authority (PHSA), through the British Columbia Center for Disease Control (BCCDC) has a take home Naloxone program which has handed out approximately 6,000 kits so far.

In an ideal world, everyone at risk of a fentanyl overdose would be next to a bystander carrying a naloxone kit. Sadly this isn’t the case. In a real world scenario, identifying the signs of an overdose and reacting to it faster could save more lives. As a working hypothesis, I think that a vital signs tracker and alert system given out for free to the population at risk can substantially reduce fentanyl OD deaths.

A technological solution/road map furthering this hypothesis will be presented in the next post.