The NIH COBRE on Opioids and Overdose is supporting this pilot project to design, implement, and test technology additions to public-access opioid overdose rescue boxes. Principal investigators Leo Kobayashi, MD and Geoff Capraro, MD, MPH from Brown Emergency Medicine will share the rationale for this project, progress to date, and hope to engage participants in a discussion of additional ways tech adjuncts to rescue boxes might improve community rescue effectiveness.

Geoff Capraro, MD, MPH is an Associate Professor with Brown Emergency Medicine, and a pediatric emergency medicine sub-specialist. He co-founded the NaloxBox program for public-access naloxone so that laypersons have the tools and information they need to rescue individuals experiencing an opioid overdose. "No tech" NaloxBoxes were implemented in RI with RI DOH mini-grant support and now are distributed across the U.S. While the NaloxBox program was not initiated as a research study, testimonials and a retrospective study have confirmed NaloxBox-facilitated rescues. The current project seeks to use cellular IoT technology to help hosts manage their NaloxBox(es), improve situational awareness, and share (PHI-free) rescue event reports.