Overdose Surveillance and Response in San Diego County

Last updated 11/25/2024.

About the Overdose Surveillance and Response (OSAR) Program

In response to the need for a comprehensive drug overdose surveillance and response system, the County of San Diego created the Overdose Surveillance and Response (OSAR) program in the fall of 2023. This program is a collaborative effort between County Health and Human Services Agency, Public Health Services, and Behavioral Health Services, with support from the County Medical Examiner's Office and County Emergency Medical Services.

The program's design is centered around three main pillars:

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  • Surveillance focuses on the monitoring of overdose data across the County, analyzing it to detect crisis events, identifying geographic hotspots, and tracking trends in substance use. 
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  • Investigation and Response efforts are initiated as geographic clusters and data spikes are identified, including street-level outreach in affected areas to provide harm reduction supplies such as naloxone (an opioid overdose reversal medication) and fentanyl test strips, along with health and community-based referrals.
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  • Community Engagement involves raising awareness of the risks of substance use, promoting harm reduction strategies, and connecting individuals with local resources.
The OSAR program focuses on surveillance which includes the continued sharing the Overdose Quarterly and Annual Opioid-Related Overdoses and Encounters in San Diego Reports.

Surveillance

Data and reports on drug-related trends across San Diego County.
Find Locations that distribute naloxone in San Diego. Naloxone is a medication that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose.

Naloxone

Learn where to get and how to use medication to reverse an opioid overdose.
Find information on Syringe Service Programs, responding to an overdose, fentanyl test strips, and other local resources.

Community Resources

Information on harm reduction services, opioid overdose response, and more.
Find information on continuing education courses, Overdose Data to Action Quarterly Newsletter, CURES 2.0, handouts, and CDC Opioid Guidelines Mobile App, and opioid prescribing resources.

Provider Resources

Guidelines, resources, and continuing education.

Contact the Overdose Surveillance and Response program via email at PHS.OSAR.HHSA@sdcounty.ca.gov, or call the Epidemiology Unit at (619) 692-8499, for more information.