Rhode Island activates newly-enhanced system to track daily non-fatal overdoses

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The Rhode Island Department of Health announced Friday that it activated a newly-enhanced system to track non-fatal overdoses.

The system keeps a record of non-fatal overdoses throughout the state to send alerts to first responders and other healthcare professionals, as well as local leaders and residents in affected areas.

The update allows the alerts to go out daily, rather than on a weekly basis.

“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 Utpala Bandy. “Using data to inform action is a key strategy in our work to prevent overdoses and save lives in Rhode Island.”

Health officials said it can take several weeks — or sometimes, months — to confirm fatal overdoses due to complex toxicology testing.

The department said by tracking non-fatal overdoses, health officials can get potentially life-saving information to the public immediately.

The state is divided into 11 overdose regions based on the department’s data. Each region has its own overdose threshold, based on the previous year of data.

Overdose Spike Alerts are sent out when there are an unusual number of overdoses, exceeding the thresholds.