NASEMSO, NAEMSP, ACEP team up to tackle opioid epidemic

By EMS1 Staff

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — The National Association of State EMS Officials, the National Association of EMS Physicians and the American College of Emergency Physicians are teaming up to develop a naloxone administration guideline.

The three organizations are working together to answer questions about naloxone best practices for EMS providers, including:

• How to best distinguish an opioid overdose from other non-responsive conditions
• When to administer a second dose of naloxone
• The most appropriate patient disposition after a return of consciousness
• How to maintain optimal medical oversight to naloxone administration

Investigators Kenneth Williams, Jeffrey Goodloe and John Lyng will lead an expert panel to produce the following:

• Model EMS treatment protocol on naloxone administration based on the evidence-based guideline
• Manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, describing the methodology used to develop the protocol with supporting references from the scientific literature
• Performance measures for evaluating the impact of the evidence-based guideline
• Module for training EMS personnel on the naloxone evidence-based guideline