Can big data help curb the opioid crisis?

THE OPIOID CRISIS CLAIMS over a hundred lives every day in the US alone. Medically known as the Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), the crisis that's taken the form of an epidemic impacts everyone across economic barriers and social strata. Dr Meera Kanhouwa describes how an anaesthesiologist friend recently committed suicide on Mother's Day: "If a physician who has access to care feels so disconsolate, what are we missing?" With over two decades of working in emergency rooms (ERs) across the US, Kanhouwa wishes she knew who was at risk: "When two people walk into my ER — same age and same back pain — who is going to be an opioid addict, or who is at risk of opioid addiction? And who has resilience? Anything I know in my gut is not a data-driven approach."