Using Scan Statistic to Detect Heroin Overdose Clusters with Hospital Emergency Room Visit Data

Early detection of heroin overdose clusters is important in the current battle against the opioid crisis to effectively implement prevention and control measures. The New York State syndromic surveillance system collects hospital emergency department (ED) visit data, including visit time, chief complaint, and patient zip code. This data can be used to timely identify potential heroin overdose outbreaks by detecting spatial-temporal case clusters with scan statistic.

Objective:

To utilize syndromic surveillance data timely detecting herion overdose outbreaks in the community.