Design and development of a web application for matching drug addiction treatment services with substance users

Abstract

One of the current and biggest problems in the system of emergency care for the drug overdose epidemic is the failure of information delivery on nearby treatment facilities. Even though some initiatives have tried to solve this issue, they either failed in delivering the information or in providing good usability. This paper presents the design and development of a web application that we refer to as DrugHelp.Care. This application delivers highly accurate, easy-to-understand, and targeted information in a timely manner for substance users and their well-wishers. It also provides an ecosystem for the treatment facilities with an easy-to-use interface to constantly update their complex information along with automatic email reminders and data completion progress indicators. Based on the requirements we have collected from substance users and treatment facilities, the application is designed and developed using the LAMP stack. A search engine for the substance users and their well-wishers preserves complete anonymity, which is very important to ensure the confidentiality of substance users.