They die alone in bedrooms, bathroom stalls and cars. Each year States, tens of thousands of fatal overdoses unfold in solitude, with no one close enough to call 911 or deliver a lifesaving antidote. Technology might save some of those lives, reports the Washington Post. Motion detectors blare alarms when someone collapses inside a bathroom at a shelter or clinic. Biosensors detect slowed breathing triggered by an overdose and one day may be capable of automatically injecting overdose reversal medication. Simpler approaches — chat apps and hotlines — keep users connected to help if drugs prove too potent. “Fear is a great motivator — it’s motivated me to at least have a connection with somebody if something did happen,” said Greg, a 57-year-old Oklahoma contractor who has called volunteers at the Never Use Alone hotline because he was concerned fentanyl might adulterate methamphetamine he was using.
Even as public health advocates, companies and government officials hope tech can stem the staggering tide of solitary drug fatalities, they know that deploying these warning strategies on a larger scale could bring obstacles. Some advocates fear communities might view the efforts as enabling drug abuse. For people who use drugs, concerns about privacy and arrest might impede acceptance. The biggest obstacle is money. Governments are spending billions of dollars to ease the opioid epidemic but relatively little on such technologies. The emergence of such tools underscores the reality that most U.S. overdose deaths don’t happen in public spaces. The nation continues to record more than 100,000 drug deaths a year, although officials have noted a decline in recent months. One federal study estimated at least 64 percent of overdose victims died in their home and one-third happened with a potential helper not responding, usually because they were in a different room.
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