Mission LISA Identifies Enhanced Treatment of Non-Fatal Overdose as Best Path in Saving and Rehabilitating Opioid Abuse Victims

Each day in the U.S., some 175 people die from opioid overdose.  As a call-to-action to engage in this crisis and reduce opioid-related deaths, Mission LISA implores the President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as well as state and county departments of health, to implement enhanced intervention and treatment programs that target victims of non-fatal opioid overdose.

The organization recommends five treatment enhancements for all victims of non-fatal overdose, who are at heightened risk of repeat overdose and possible death:

1. EMS transport to a hospital emergency department.
2. In-patient attention for 24 hours.
3. Education on the risk of repeat overdose and death, and treatment options for addiction.
4. Introduction to a voluntary Medication-Assisted Treatment prescription program and long-term behavioral therapy, providing both physical and mental health treatment.
5. Release of naloxone to the patient and family members or friends who are present in case of emergency with instruction on how to administer upon release from facility.

Mission LISA (Learning Indicators of Substance Addiction) conducted an in-depth analysis of data-based evidence, gathered by academic and government researchers – including those at the CDC – and published recently in long-term studies, to prove that focusing on victims of non-lethal overdose is the best chance of saving and rehabilitating those most in need.  By analyzing and extrapolating data from the President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, Mission LISA determined that at two percent fatality, there are 49 non-fatal opioid overdose victims for every fatal overdose, which translates into 8,575 non-fatal overdoses in the U.S. per day.

These victims too often receive insufficient care and attention from health service providers and remain at significant risk for subsequent, fatal overdose.  Mission LISA finds that treating non-fatal overdose patients immediately and more fully has a significant impact on whether they will survive, and could save up to 100 lives per day, reducing nationwide opioid-induced mortality by up to 58 percent.

"Data show that engaging people addicted to opioids at the time of a non-fatal overdose is critically important. By providing these individuals with more aggressive treatment, we have a good chance of saving them," said Allan Martin, Chairman of the Board, Mission LISA and CEO of Lumina Analytics. "The opioid epidemic is a national health crisis. To solve it will require considerable effort and cooperation across the spectrum of policy makers, insurers, pharmaceutical companies and healthcare practitioners. The policy we are recommending today has the potential to save many lives. We are hopeful that its adoption will be rapid and widespread." 

Mission LISA has identified that many victims of opioid-induced mortality have overdosed multiple times prior to the overdose that results in their deaths.  Several studies have shown a strong association between non-fatal overdose and increased risk of subsequent overdose death.  A recent Massachusetts study demonstrates that nearly half of those who died of fatal opioid overdoses suffered a non-fatal overdose in the preceding five years. Additionally, nearly one in 10 patients observed in the study, who experienced non-fatal overdose, died of a fatal overdose within two years.

"The estimated total costs of opioid and heroin addiction, roughly $111 billion every year, don't take into account the extraordinary suffering caused by this crisis.  The loss of human life and damage inflicted on families and communities across the country by this scourge are almost unimaginable," said Katie Sogolow, Vice President of Mission LISA Operations. "The policy we are recommending today has the potential to end this suffering for thousands of Americans.  We know that enhanced treatment at the time of non-fatal overdose will significantly decrease mortality. By implementing enhanced intervention now, our federal, state, and local governments will save countless lives, reduce the monetary costs and alleviate the human suffering this crisis is inflicting on communities across the nation."

Mission LISA will publish additional data-driven policy recommendations, outlining evidence-based models for ongoing intervention among victims of opioid addiction and overdose. An electronic version of Mission LISA's first policy recommendation can be accessed here: https://info.luminaanalytics.com/hubfs/Mission%20LISA%20Policy%20Recommendation/Enhanced%20Treatment%20Intervention%20Policy%20Recommendation%204022018_v5_Academic.pdf

About Mission LISA:
Mission LISA is a data aggregation initiative surrounding America's national opioid crisis. Using deep web mining and machine learning technology, Lumina Analytics, in partnership with the Mission LISA Foundation, is collecting, synthesizing, and analyzing massive amounts of publicly available data to provide policymakers and healthcare service providers with timely and relevant intelligence surrounding the current state of the crisis and how best to combat nationwide overdose death and addiction. Mission LISA's Advisory Board is comprised of expert physicians, researchers, academics, policy veterans, and industry professionals, who provide strategic direction for ongoing data systems development and analysis. These data drive production of evidence-based policy recommendations and patient-centric treatment pathways, yielding highly targeted solutions for the epidemic.

About the Mission LISA Foundation:
The Mission LISA Foundation was formed by Lumina Analytics as part of its Mission LISA data aggregation project.  LISA is an acronym for Learning Indicators of Substance Addiction.  Mission LISA was launched by Lumina Analytics in 2017 to address the need for more robust and timely data surrounding the opioid crisis in America.  For more information, please contact Katie Sogolow at [email protected] or call (813)781-0057. Visit www.LuminaAnalytics.com to learn more about Mission LISA technology and data analysis.

About Lumina: 
Lumina is a Tampa-based, risk sensing intelligence firm. The company provides data aggregation and analytics services to corporate and government clients throughout the United States. Its focus is on the aggregation of external, publicly available data for risk sensing intelligence.  Lumina uses proprietary machine learning algorithms to address certain risks within healthcare, financial services, defense, corporate and national security.  The company was founded by serial entrepreneurs Dr. Morten Middelfart (Lumina's Chief Data Scientist) and Allan Martin (Lumina's CEO).

SOURCE Mission LISA Foundation