SAN DIEGO — A local doctor developed an app to save lives from fentanyl overdoses and death.

The Rescue Me CPR! app uses videos and instructions to show how to revive someone who has overdosed.

The doctor who created it hopes it ends up in everyone’s pocket.

A series of beeps and a video demonstration on the Rescue ME CPR! app shows users how to resuscitate someone who is overdosing.

“In 2021, there were 107,000 deaths from drug overdose, the great majority of those were from opioids,” said Dr. Mark Greenberg of University of California, San Diego.

Dr. Greenberg got the idea for the app after his own daughter encountered a possible overdose at a party.

“My daughter said, ‘Well, we had a kid at a party who turned blue and stopped breathing. We didn’t know. We called 911 and we were able to do something to keep the kid alive but I wish we had something to help him,’ and I’m like ‘well, what would that have been?’ I said ‘I wish we had an app’ and I said ‘I’m going to make one,’” Dr. Greenberg said.

UC San Diego researchers are now studying the app’s effectiveness. Dr. Greenberg says the results so far show people using the app with no training can provide help to a victim within 45 seconds via CPR or administering an emergency treatment.

“Having the app is a great tool and getting the education, informing individuals and having some knowledge may help prevent a lot of deaths,” said Scott Silverman of Confidential Recovery.

The DEA also found of all the fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills it tested in 2022 — six out of 10 contained enough fentanyl to kill someone. 

“If there’s no other way to stop fentanyl from coming to the United States, then we have to prevent the deaths that it causes,” Dr. Greenberg said.

The app is free and available to download right now.

Dr. Greenberg hopes to partner with as many organizations as possible to spread the word about this app.