Overdose biosurveillance—the public health laboratory testing of residual specimens from patients presenting to emergency departments with a non-fatal overdose—identifies the substances involved with the overdoses and informs overdose surveillance and prevention strategies.
The advanced analytical toxicology and chemistry capabilities within public health laboratories and their integrated health surveillance systems lay the foundation for the sampling and testing of residual clinical specimens obtained from patients presenting to emergency departments with a nonfatal overdose for drug detection and characterization, or "overdose biosurveillance." Laboratory data derived from this testing enhances existing overdose epidemiological surveillance infrastructure at national, state and local levels. Public health laboratories are uniquely poised to make valuable contributions to overdose response strategies alongside partners in medicine, epidemiology and overdose prevention.
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Overdose Biosurveillance Resources
Overdose Biosurveillance Dashboard
Technical Resources
The resources below were developed in collaboration with the Overdose Biosurveillance Task Force to provide guidance to public health laboratories establishing or expanding biosurveillance programs for opioids and polysubstance overdoses:
The Overdose Biosurveillance Task Force (OBTF) was established in 2019 as the Opioids Biosurveillance Task Force by the APHL Board of Directors in recognition of the role public health laboratories play in tackling the evolving overdose epidemic. Co-chaired by Amy Miles (Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene) and Jason Peterson (Minnesota Department of Health Public Health Laboratory), the OBTF is a multidisciplinary panel providing subject matter expertise and input into the creation, dissemination and promotion of resources for public health laboratory biosurveillance testing programs. Originally focused on exclusively opioid overdoses, the Overdose Biosurveillance Task Force rebranded to their current name in 2022 to match the evolving nature of the overdose epidemic as non-opioid and polysubstance overdose has significantly increased. The current iteration of the OBTF is focused on expanding analytical, data dissemination and emergency response capabilities of biosurveillance programs.
Creating the Overdose Biosurveillance Dashboard to assist overdose biosurveillance in analytical method development and epidemiological interpretation of laboratory results
Publishing the Hospital Outreach Template to assist overdose biosurveillance programs in hospital outreach efforts
The Overdose Community of Practice is an online message board and bimonthly teleconference focused on facilitating communication between governmental laboratories and their public health partners on overdose and drug-related testing activities. The Overdose Community of Practice meets bimonthly to discuss issues, concerns, strategies and best practices. Governmental laboratory staff and their public health partners may join the Overdose Community of Practice.
Those interested in joining the Overdose Community of Practice should send an email to [email protected] with "Overdose CoP" in the subject line.​
Overdose Community of Practice Call
Meets Bimonthly on the first Thursday of every other month, 1:00-2:00 pm ET
OD2A in States Technical Assistance
APHL provides technical assistance to the 20 jurisdictions funded under Overdose Data to Action in States (OD2A-S) Strategy 4: Biosurveillance through the OD2A-S Biosurveillance Technical Assistance (TA) Workgroup. APHL hosts a monthly teleconference call and semi-annual in-person meetings to facilitate discussion among recipients, share best practices, support collaboration between laboratories and their epidemiology partners, and address challenges. Membership in the OD2A-S Biosurveillance TA Workgroup is limited to laboratory and epidemiology staff working in overdose biosurveillance programs funded under OD2A-S Strategy 4: Biosurveillance.
Overdose Biosurveillance Peer-to-peer Exchange Program
APHL’s Overdose Biosurveillance Peer-to-peer Exchange Program matches biosurveillance program staff for in-person exchanges based on self-identified strengths and needs. These visits provide opportunities to share best practices, address challenges, and build consistency across the developing national overdose biosurveillance system. APHL will fund travel for selected participants to visit peer laboratories for hands-on learning. Public health laboratory staff in both program coordination and bench chemistry roles are eligible for participation in this program. Applications will reopen in late 2026. Information on applying to the program will be shared in the Overdose Community of Practice.
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Environmental Health Travel and Training Awards
APHL offers support to enable public health professionals to enhance their skills and expand their knowledge in environmental health by attending relevant training sessions and non-APHL conferences.
These awards are intended for permanent employees at APHL member environmental or public health laboratories engaged in testing environmental (air, water, soil, etc.) matrices or clinical specimens (blood, urine, etc.). Eligible training areas: human biomonitoring, environmental chemistry, Laboratory Response Network for Chemical Threats (LRN-C) and overdose biosurveillance (OD2A-S).
