Language: English

Assess the preliminary impact of Brave Technology Co-op’s overdose detection devices that have been implemented in housing, medical, social service facilities, and several private settings in North America. Data analyzed provided insights on the number of overdoses detected and reversed (averted overdose deaths) using Brave Sensors and Buttons, along with other programmatic and session-specific indicators. Brave’s devices hold promise for increasing rates of overdose detection and preventing overdose deaths.

Virtual overdose monitoring services use digital technologies, such as smartphone applications or phone lines, to provide a variety of supports focused on harm reduction, such as overdose monitoring, harm reduction education, and referrals to health and social services. They can facilitate timely and anonymous access to emergency care for people who use substances.

Since the emergence of mobile overdose response services (MORS), two strategies have aimed to help reduce the mortality associated with acute overdose including staffed hotline-based services and unstaffed timer-based services. In this article, we aim to gather the perspectives of various key interest groups on these technologies to determine which might best support service users.

Overall, participants noted that individuals who use substances vary in their desire for connection during a substance use session offered by hotline and timer-based service modalities. Participants perceived hotline-based approaches to be more reliable and thus potentially safer than their timer-based counterparts but noted that access to technology is a limitation of both approaches.

The goal of this narrative review is to describe recent global innovations in overdose detection technologies (ODT) enabling rapid responses to overdose events, especially for people who use drugs alone. We found that only a small number of technologies designed to assist in overdose detection and response are currently commercially available, though several are in the early stages of development. Research, development, and scale-up of practical, cost-effective ODTs remains a public health imperative.