As Alberta's opioid deaths peak, researchers say lack of data leaves front line 'flying blind'

After Alberta experienced its deadliest month on record for opioid deaths, some health researchers are calling for the province to return to releasing neighbourhood-level data, arguing that doing so could help save lives.

But the provincial government isn't committed to doing so yet, telling CBC News in an email that there are concerns tied to privacy. 

Elaine Hyshka is the Canada Research Chair in health systems innovation at the University of Alberta's School of Public Health. She said researchers are often waiting on the province to release timely data, even though numbers started to climb around 2015.

Neighbourhood-level data in Edmonton and Calgary and trends in the spatial distribution of overdose in the other major cities around Alberta used to be accessible by researchers but isn't any longer.

"People on the ground are really flying blind when it comes to who is dying. Where are they dying? What kinds of programs and services can we be putting in place in those specific areas to immediately save lives?" Hyshka said.

"There's just no way to do that without access to information. So I hope the government will commit to following the lead of British Columbia and release those data monthly."

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The province also hasn't released reviews of medical examiner data tied to opioid-related deaths for years, the last one being tied to 2017 data. 

That report involved reviews of every death, the jobs they worked, their history of incarceration, and more, Hyshka said.

"These factors would then point to areas of the system where we should be focusing, right? So if we see, for example, there's a lot of people who are leaving incarceration that are dying, then we would focus on enhancing programs within carceral settings," she said.

"We haven't had that review done since 2017. B.C. has done at least two since then. So that's one thing I'd like to see."

Various organizations have called for changes around how opioid data is reported in Alberta.

In February 2022, the Edmonton Zone Medical Staff Association said it had twice requested local geographical area data for deaths related to opioid poisoning and calls made to EMS, but it hadn't received responses.

When it came to these most recent calls for updates, Hunter Baril, a spokesperson with the province, said Alberta's substance use surveillance system is more comprehensive than what was previously contained in opioid surveillance reports.