National Ambulance Surveillance System for Alcohol and Other Drug Misuse and Overdoes 2022-2025

Turning Point provides the Commonwealth Department of Health with comprehensive and timely data on AOD-related harms in the Australian population. Clinical records
from state and territory-based ambulance services are provided to Turning Point in an electronic format. A team of specially trained research assistants scrutinise and code each record, capturing the information in a purpose-built and internationally unique database. The research assistants have on-going coding training, and coding audits are performed routinely to insure inter- and intra-coder reliability. The data capture more than 140 variables including information on patient demographics, scene details (e.g. date of attendance, time of attendance, police co-attendance, GPS coordinates where available, postcode), patient physical condition (vital signs, patient outcome (e.g. transported to hospital), 13 illicit drugs, 82 pharmaceutical medications, other substances (including alcohol or inhalants) and intent. These data form the basis of a novel surveillance system that identifies AOD related harms, and is subsequently used to inform policy and interventions.