Near-real-time Syndromic Alerting System for Potential Opioid Overdoses Reported to BC Drug and Poison Information Centre

Sarah B. Henderson Since declaration of the provincial opioid public health emergency in 2016, British Columbia continues to see new adulterations to illicit drugs, changes in drug use habits, and increasing drug potency. Under these conditions the province is still experiencing an increase in annual deaths from illicit drug overdoses. We developed a syndromic surveillance system to detect opioid overdoses in data collected by the Drug and Poison Information Centre (DPIC) in near-real-time, potentially allowing rapid identification of dangerous changes in the drug supply. The system incorporates machine learning and free text mining to account for the evolving nature of public exposure to illicit opioids.

BC CDC Presenters

10/22/2019 5:50:00 PM