When someone is overdosing on painkillers, heroin or other opioids, a simple injection of Naloxone can save their life.
The drug has been available for decades. But, until recently, it has been available mostly to first responders, doctors and those with a prescription. In the past few years, the drug has become available to anyone at most pharmacies and the number of regular people who have been trained to administer Naloxone has more than tripled.
That means someone who is on the verge of an overdose who can't get to a pharmacy or may be afraid to call 911 can call community members to stop the OD. The problem is finding those people on short notice. That's why the Federal Drug Administration is challenging developers across the country to create a mobile app to connect opioid users with community members who have Naloxone on hand and have been trained to administer it.
What's most important is that you're getting all of these communities talking about it and asking how they can help.
In Austin, Jackrabbit Mobile is hosting a hackathon at its office on East 7th Street on Oct. 19 that coincides with the FDA's code-a-thon on its campus in Maryland.
"If we can make an app that somebody can quickly get on and be able to see where the nearest dose of this is, then we could save lives," said Kyle Zamcheck, outcomes director at Jackrabbit Mobile. "So I think what's really cool is that the FDA is doing a call to action and engaging the community."
All of the code developed at the hackathons will be open-source. Competing developers will refine a concept and create a video showing the prototype by Nov. 7. Then, judges from the FDA and other organizations will select a winner and award $40,000. Those who don't win will be invited to apply for small business research grants that could help fund development of another app.
In addition to sharing code among participants across the nation, the hackathons will connect developers with organizations that deal with substance abuse and health issues everyday to help identify the biggest problems and suggest solutions developers might integrate.
"To me, what's most important is that you're getting all of these communities talking about it and asking how they can help," Zamcheck said. "I think that's a really good strategic way to get people talking about a critical issue that's affecting millions of people every day."
Opioid addiction and overdoses are on the rise. And, in Texas, painkiller overdoses and abuse has grown to exceed heroin use. The rate of overdose deaths increased 80 percent from 1999 to 2014, the Texas Tribune reported.
It's unclear how many lives an app might save or how many emergency room visits it may prevent. But the FDA and Jackrabbit say it's important to develop as many solutions as possible.
"Let's say somebody doesn't have a smart phone and is addicted," Zamcheck said. "Well, does their neighbor? Does somebody who they're connected to or someone who notices them have the ability to hop on their phone and say 'hey we need to get this drug?' Let's have that accessibility available."
(Photo via Flickr by Charles Williams. CC by 2.0)
