Overdose app comes to Edmonton
Public health prof warns testing critical to ensure it's effective, protects privacy
An app aimed at curbing overdoses by alerting emergency medical services if a user is unresponsive is now available in Edmonton.
First launched in Calgary, those who use the free Digital Overdose Response System (DORS) app, will receive a call from the STARS emergency centre if they become unresponsive to a timer. If an overdose is suspected, STARS will dispatch emergency medical services to the person's location.
“More than 70 per cent of opioid-related fatalities happen at home,” said Mike Ellis, associate minister of mental health and addictions, in a news release.
“The Digital Overdose Response System will help prevent fatalities for people who are using opioids at home. If you are in Edmonton, use the DORS app when using opioids and other substances, especially when using alone.”
Only an individual's phone number and location are collected by the app, created by Alberta-based company Aware 360 Ltd., and STARS only initiates contact if an emergency is suspect.
The app also has information on treatment and recovery services through an addiction resources tab.
A spokesman for mental health and addictions said the province could not provide data on the number of users the app currently has, or the number of times emergency medical services has been dispatched, due to DORS being a confidential and anonymous program.
Elaine Hyshka, associate professor at the University of Alberta's School of Public Health, said Friday she's not opposed to the app but she's hoping to see what data and pilot testing was done to ensure that it's safe and effective before rolling it out.
“I would be concerned if it's rolled out without robust testing, and without the direct involvement of the target population. So, I would really want to see usability testing done with people who are actively using drugs, to make sure that this app is something that meets their needs,” she said.
Hyshka added that those people are going to feel the stigma of substance and will be very concerned about their privacy.
“Every time you set up an app like that you have to be really, really careful that you are protecting privacy and that people feel that their information will be held securely, and that there's no risk that they could be criminalized,” she said.
Between January and July of this year, 898 Albertans have died of an accidental drug poisoning, the latest data from the Alberta government shows. Of those, 821 deaths have been from an opioid poisoning. This marks a 22 per cent increase over the same time period in 2020, which saw 735 accidental drug poisonings.
There were 137 drug poisonings in June and 116 in July.
Edmonton continues to experience higher rates of drug poisonings than the rest of Alberta. Over June and July, the city saw a total of 107 accidental drug poisoning deaths, with 104 of those from an opioid. In comparison, Calgary experienced 75 overdose deaths, with 71 from an opioid poisoning.
In response to the latest overdose numbers, NDP addictions and mental health critic Lori Sigurdson said in a statement the deaths are preventable and the “UCP'S inaction to respond adequately to the crisis” is making it worse.
She noted the NDP had previously proposed an emergency action plan to address the crisis, including the expansion of supervised consumption sites, a safe and regulated supply of drugs, and making drug testing easily available.
I would be concerned if it's rolled out without robust testing, and without the ... involvement of the target population.