Coroner offices throughout the United States, Hamilton County included, are experiencing delays in evidence data sharing and case completion due to backlogs at private toxicology laboratories. These backlogs are associated with the rising caseloads caused by drug related deaths most often related to opioid abuse and new emerging illegal drugs.
Because of these backlogs, information that needs to filter back to community stakeholders is delayed and often no longer significantly time relevant once it is received.
To mitigate these challenges, the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office recently purchased the Randox Multistat Rapid Toxicology Analyzer.
The Randox technology provides the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office with the ability to complete drug and alcohol overdose investigations in a timely manner through minimizing testing delays created by the backlog of toxicology submissions to private laboratories.
Jellison
“Having this technology in-house, we now can produce toxicology results within 30 minutes versus the four-week average time frame from private toxicology laboratories,” Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison said. “The ability to provide real-time toxicology data to forensic pathologists, law enforcement, and the public health community is a game changer in forensic investigations.”