Horry County Slashes Post-Mortem Toxicology Turnaround Times
Horry County, South Carolina, have advanced their efforts in addressing the opioid epidemic through their purchase of the Evidence MultiSTAT analyser, providing it with rapid post-mortem toxicology results in just 20 minutes.
Chief Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard stressed the importance of the project:
“It is a priority. People are dying from overdoses, and that should be everyone’s concern.”
Horry County remains one of the hardest-hit areas in South Carolina for opioid-related deaths. With 233 recorded drug overdose deaths in 2022, rising to 237 in 2023, officials have responded to the crisis by launching several programs, including a harm reduction team with Fire Rescue, a crisis intervention team with law enforcement, and a recovery program for inmates at the county jail.
As part of this initiative, the Coroner’s Office acquired funding for advanced post-mortem toxicology technology to accelerate drug screening and improve data sharing.
The Evidence MultiSTAT is now delivering preliminary toxicology results to the coroner in just 20 minutes. A huge advantage compared to the previous turnaround of several weeks, when the county was sending out samples to third-party labs. A fully automated analyser, the MultiSTAT provides on-site simultaneous detection of up to 29 classical, prescription and synthetic drugs from a single sample.
Willard explained the process:
“We would take a sample like a normal sample, like we would normally take blood, urine or vitreous fluid and run that through the machine, and it would give us the positive or negative of whether or not these substances are found in that individual’s specimen.”
Faster post-mortem toxicology results will enable the Coroner’s Office to track the county’s overdose trends in real time, provide critical data to law enforcement, fire departments, and community organisations. Importantly, it will also help officials identify where overdoses are happening most so that they can respond quickly and effectively.
“So this will just allow us to get that information to our colleagues faster and assist us with our own investigations as well,” Willard added.
This initiative marks a major step forward in Horry County’s commitment to saving lives and combating the opioid crisis through advanced post-mortem toxicology testing. To find out more about potential grants you could use to purchase the Evidence MultiSTAT, visit our website, or contact us at info@randoxtoxicology.com.