Med students at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) have created an innovative app that improves access to Naloxone, a drug used to counter the effects of opioid overdose.
The news comes in a press release today as the opioid death rate continues to rise in northern Ontario,
Jordan Law, MacKenzie Ludgate and Owen Montpellier have developed the Naloxone North app, a free and confidential service that ships a Naloxone kit right to your door. The Naloxone North app includes educational information about the drug as well as a detailed instructional video and approved information about the safe administration of Naloxone.
“Opioid-related death rates in many parts of northern Ontario are higher during this pandemic and significantly higher than the numbers being reported elsewhere in Ontario,” says Mackenzie Ludgate, fourth-year medical student at NOSM and pharmacist.
“This app offers privacy and access to people who want to have a Naloxone kit on-hand, but who are uncomfortable facing the stigma or fear associated with asking for one in person at a pharmacy or clinic,” adds Owen Montpellier, another fourth-year medical student who worked on the app.
“The Naloxone North app also provides improved access for those living in remote, isolated or rural communities in northern Ontario,” says Jordan Law, another fourth-year medical student and pharmacist who worked on the app. “As long as you have an Ontario Health Card, you can order the kit through the app and request that it be shipped to your preferred location.”
The students followed the guidelines of the Ontario Ministry of Health’s Naloxone Program to meet the applicable policy requirements for safe Naloxone administration, education, and distribution.
Dr. Marion Maar, Associate Professor of Medical Anthropology and faculty advisor on the project, says, “The app provides a simultaneous opportunity to conduct research that will determine whether it is an effective way to support opioid recovery in northern Ontario."
A NOSM research team has received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to study recovery in the opioid crisis in northern Ontario.
"They will leverage their work to support the ongoing development of the Naloxone North app and study its uptake in rural, Francophone and Indigenous communities," says the release.
Statistics from Public Health Ontario (PHO) show the opioid-related death rates in many parts of Northern Ontario are significantly higher than the numbers being reported in other parts of Ontario.
The free Naloxone North app is now available for both Android and iPhone. Learn more at naloxonenorth.ca.
The research is being conducted in collaboration with First Nations and led by Drs. Marion Maar, Darrel Manitowabi, Lorrilee McGregor, and Diana Urajnik, in partnership with the medical students. The medical students would like to thank Dr. Nicholas Fortino, emergency physician at Health Sciences North, for his guidance with the app.
