Opioid EMS Calls

The incident locations represented are approximated and not the actual location of the incident. Latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates have been truncate to 3 decimal points. The estimated location lies within approximately a 1/4 mile radius. This approximated location data is also shown on the dashboard.

This feature layer supports the Opioid Abuse Probable EMS Call Dashboard. The following documents what data are collected and why they are being collected. 

Opioid Abuse Probable

A call may be coded as “opioid abuse probable” for many reasons, such as

• Are there are any medical symptoms indicative of opioid abuse?
  
• Are there physical indicators on scene (i.e. drug paraphernalia, pill bottles, etc.)?
  
• Are there witnesses or patient statements made that point to opioid abuse?
  
• Is there any other evidence that opioid abuse is probable with the patient?
  

“Opioid abuse probable” is determined by Tempe Fire Medical Rescue Department’s Emergency medical technicians and paramedics on scene at the time of the incident. 

Narcan/Naloxone Given

“Narcan/Naloxone Given” refers to whether the medication Narcan/Naloxone was given to patients who exhibited signs or symptoms of a potential opioid overdose or to patients who fall within treatment protocols that require Narcan/Naloxone to be given.  Narcan/Naloxone are the same medication with Narcan being the trade name and Naloxone being the generic name for the medication.  Narcan is the reversal medication used by medical providers for opioid overdoses.

Groups

“Groups” are used to determine if there are specific populations that have an increase in opioid abuse. 

• The student population at ASU was being examined for other purposes to determine ASU's overall call volume impact in Tempe. Data collection with the university is consistent with Fire Departments who provide service to the other PAC 12 universities. Since this data set was already being evaluated, it was included in the opioid data collection as well.
  
• The Veteran and Homeless Groups were established as demographic tabs to identify trends and determine needs in conjunction with the City of Tempe’s Veterans and Homeless programs.  Since these data sets were being evaluated already, they were included in the opioid data collection as well.
  
• The “unknown” group includes incidents where a patient is unable to answer or refuses to answer the demographic questions.  
  

Gender

Patient gender is documented as male or female when crews are able to obtain this information from the patient. There are some circumstances where this information is not readily determined and the patient is unable to communicate with our crews. In these circumstances, crews may document unknown/unable to determine. 

Information about the data can be found at https://bit.ly/2xXbD20