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San Diego Community Response to Overdoses (CReDO) Task Force

This program uses real-time tracking of overdose clusters to target rapid interventions

Just as contact tracing has been used to identify and respond to outbreaks of Covid-19 in communities, so too can it be used to identify opioid overdose clusters, allowing early intervention. Established in 2021 in response to rapidly rising overdose deaths, the Community Response to Overdoses (CReDO) Task Force in San Diego involves collaboration between public safety and public health agencies, including the district attorney’s office and the city’s emergency medical services. Data from overdose incidents using the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program (ODMAP) are shared between agencies, allowing the rapid deployment of overdose teams that can assist overdose survivors, their families, and their communities prevent future overdoses. CReDO conducts education on opioid misuse, develops online resources for treatment, encourages fentanyl testing by local hospitals, and promotes communication between medical personnel treating overdoses and agencies conducting community-level interventions. The task force succeeded in increasing the fentanyl testing capacity of local hospitals by 70%.

CReDO is a project of the San Diego Prescription Drug Abuse Task Force, which can be contacted here. More information about the program and its objectives is available in this interview with task force members.

 

Breaking the silos between public health, public safety, and overdose prevention by using near real-time contact tracing can and will save lives lost to opioid overdoses.

Continuum of Care
Treatment
Recovery
Harm Reduction
Type of Evidence
Implemented
Response Approach
Post-overdose response
Related Resources
Overdose Mapping Tool for the United States and Appalachia
Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Non-Fatal Opioid Overdose Tracker
Cross-Agency Approaches to Substance Use Disorder Prevention and Treatment: National Recommendations
Building Successful Partnerships between Law Enforcement and Public Health Agencies to Address Opioid Use
Developing Interagency Collaboration to Address the Opioid Epidemic: A Scoping Review of Joint Criminal Justice and Healthcare Initiatives
Responding to Individuals in Behavioral Health Crisis Via Co-Responder Models: The Roles of Cities, Counties, Law Enforcement, and Providers
Using Fentanyl Test Strips as a Tool for Preventing Overdose and Facilitating Linkages to Care
An assessment of the limits of detection, sensitivity and specificity of three devices for public health-based drug checking of fentanyl in street-acquired samples
Fentanyl Test Strips as an Opioid Overdose Prevention Strategy: Findings from a Syringe Services Program in the Southeastern United States
CReDO One Pager FINAL.pdf

Evidence of Program Effectiveness

"Through our CReDO project we reached out to all 24 hospitals in San Diego County and surveyed current rapid fentanyl testing capacity. After an educational campaign, we increased testing capability by nearly 70% making fentanyl inclusion in drug tests a standard of care.  The project success was the driving force for SB 864, a California bill that would require all hospitals to include fentanyl in their drug panel. The bill passed Senate Health with unanimous bipartisan support." - "Task Force Uses Contact Tracing to Address Overdose Crisis" 6/2022.