Alberta unveils overdose response app

By KELLEN TANIGUCHI on March 24, 2021.

ktaniguchi@medicinehatnews.com@@kellentaniguchi

The Alberta government will be testing a new Digital Overdose Response System (DORS) mobile app in Calgary this summer in hopes of preventing overdose deaths in the province.

In 2020, 1,128 people died in Alberta from opioid overdose, and the province’s substance use surveillance data shows COVID-19 continues to have a large impact on those struggling with addiction.

People using substances alone can use the DORS app, which will trigger a call from STARS emergency centre if the person becomes unresponsive to a pre-set timer – alerting emergency personnel to attend the person’s home in the event of a presumed overdose.

“We know that most people who fatally overdose in Alberta do so in a private home,” Alberta’s Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Jason Luan, said in a news release.

“Among the first of its kind in Canada, the DORS app will help prevent opioid and other substance-related deaths by those using alone at home. Launching this app is another important step in building a full recovery-oriented continuum of care for addiction treatment in the province.”

The app also provides information about recovery supports and services available in the area to make sure people have the information needed to start the process of addiction recovery.

An app for people who use opioids and other substances at home alone is important, the government says, because 70 per cent of overdose deaths in Alberta in 2020 occurred in a private residence.

If the app is a success, the province plans to expand its services to other areas next year when the testing phase is complete.

However, there is some skepticism of the app making its way to Medicine Hat.

“Any kind of support for people that use substances, in particular opioids, is a good step,” said Kym Porter, of Moms Stop the Harm in Medicine Hat. “But one of the concerns I have about this app is the connection to the recovery component.

“If people are choosing to work on their recovery, that would be positive. But I don’t think they need an app to help them with their recovery. They are able to reach out and find the resources they need without a specific app.”

Porter says she is hesitant to support the app because the government pulled the plug on a similar mobile app last year. The app would have allowed users to speak with a peer operator who would monitor them after substance use and dispatch emergency personnel if they became unresponsive – Minister Luan said at the time the app was cancelled he was deeply concerned for patient safety with the specific service.

Porter adds the government should be spending money in other areas to prevent opioid-related deaths.

“I think their energy would be better put into implementing more supervised consumption sites and implementing a safe supply of drugs,” she said. “I think it would be less costly financially, as well as less costly to the families and the people that are struggling.”

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