How Often Is Naloxone Used To Save Overdose Victims Where You Live? This Map Shows You

A new interactive map from the Indiana Commission to Combat Drug Abuse shows when and where naloxone, or Narcan, is used.

Image from Indiana Commission to Combat Drug Abuse website.

(Undated) - An online map shows where naloxone is being administered to drug overdose victims in Indiana.

The life-saving drug also known as Narcan can be given by relatives, friends, or first responders when a person overdoses on an opioid such as heroin or fentanyl.

Indiana’s Next Level Recovery website now includes a naloxone administration heatmap. Launched Thursday by the Indiana Commission to Combat Drug Abuse, the interactive map can show approximate locations where naloxone was given over any time period dating back to 2014.

“Naloxone is a proven life-saver,” said Jim McClelland, Executive Director for Drug Prevention, Treatment and Enforcement. “This map gives first responders a visual asset to help them deploy resources more efficiently. It’s one more tool we can use to attack the drug epidemic and promote recovery—an important focus of Governor Eric Holcomb’s administration.”

The map shows sites where naloxone was used at sites across southeastern Indiana so far in 2018. Not surprisingly, the highest concentrations of naloxone usage are in cities and towns like Lawrenceburg, Aurora, Batesville, Brookville, Milan, Versailles and Vevay. However, rural areas on the map are peppered with purple dots, too.

Exact locations were not included, the commission said, to protect privacy. Locations where the naloxone administration occurred are represented within 100 meters of the point on the map. In moderately populated areas, they are within 300 meters, and in rural areas, they are within 500 meters.

“As we continue to battle the opioid epidemic from all angles, this new tool will both inform our first responders and help identify general locations that have seen an increase in naloxone delivery,” said state EMS medical director Dr. Michael Kaufmann. “Indiana EMS providers and first responders deliver this life-saving medication every day, and the data produced through this mapping tool will help to guide the ongoing strategy of Governor Holcomb’s NextLevel Recovery agenda.”