Dr. Jennifer Jackson (PhD), assistant professor, ݮƵ Nursing
June 25, 2020
Study shows supervised consumption sites could save Alberta government money
Cost analysis by ݮƵ Nursing and Cumming School of Medicine team indicates benefits to supervised consumption sites
Ambulance - Safe consumption
Supervised consumption sites (SCS) can savemillions of dollarsand free up emergency medical services (EMS) fornon-opioid issues, says a recent report fromݮƵNursing assistant professorDr. Jennifer Jackson(PhD).
“This study was about what saves moneyfor Alberta healthcare,”says Jackson, who is also a member of the O’Brien Institute for Public Health at ݮƵ’s Cumming School of Medicine (CSM). “And the take-away is that, yes, SCS save money,free up ambulances, and decrease the number of people using emergency rooms.”
Jackson usedpopulation-level data, information that ispublicly availablefrom the Calgary SCS, as well as provincial datafor a three-year period (2017 to 2020)toanalyze the cost benefitof managing overdoses at the SCS instead of EMS.Each overdose that is managed at the SCS produces approximately $1,600 in cost savings, with a savings of over $2.3 million since the site opened.While the Government of Alberta released a report into SCS across the provinceearlier this year, that document focused on community impact and not cost analysis.
“We chose to look at overdose management, preventions of overdose-related deaths and the associated cost impacts for Alberta Health,”Jackson explains.“SCS are widely accepted as decreasing fatal accidental overdoses.When people overdose at the SCS, the staff currently manage 98 per centof these at their site, which translates to 700 people a year that don’t needambulance or emergency management.”
Jackson’s researchexamined overdose rates and whether providing care at the SCS rather than in-hospital treatment was less expensive.For the purposes of this research, Jackson and project consultants fromthe Centre for Health Informatics at CSM defined an overdose as the application of a medical intervention to a client who is not rousable. Thisincludes administrationofoxygen ornaloxone or calling EMS.
Jackson’s hope is that her research will encourage policy-makers to look more closely atSCS in Calgary specifically, but also across the spectrum.
“In times where the health-care system is challenged to cut costs,keepingSCS are definitely a place where a difference can be made.”
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