CAMDEN, N.J. — Cooper EMS is expanding its treatment options for patients experiencing opioid overdoses by adding long-acting injectable buprenorphine to its ambulances.
The move builds on the agency’s earlier use of sublingual buprenorphine on Mobile Intensive Care Unit ambulances, allowing paramedics to begin medication-assisted treatment shortly after reversing an overdose, the agency said in a press release.
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In addition to sublingual buprenorphine, Cooper EMS paramedics are now authorized to administer extended-release injectable buprenorphine in the field. Officials said the treatment can provide patients with a week to a month of opioid use disorder coverage after a single EMS encounter, giving them more time to connect with follow-up care, outpatient treatment and recovery services.
“Too often, patients survive an overdose but fall through the cracks before they can access treatment,” EMS Medical Director Gerard G. Carroll, MD, said. “By allowing paramedics to administer injectable buprenorphine, we’re not just reversing overdoses, we’re initiating sustained recovery at the point of care.”
Officials said the longer-lasting medication could be especially helpful in areas with limited addiction treatment access, giving patients more time to arrange follow-up care and reducing the risk of relapse.
“This is about meeting patients where they are,” Carroll said. “EMS is often the only point of contact for individuals with opioid use disorder. Giving paramedics the tools to start durable treatment in the field fundamentally changes what prehospital care can accomplish.”
Officials said the program builds on years of community-based addiction response and aligns with broader efforts to expand treatment access and reduce overdose deaths.
Where should EMS draw the line between emergency care and initiating long-term treatment like buprenorphine?
EMS1 readers respond
“Our local paramedics can administer Fentanyl; opioids are like potato chips, one is never enough, and in a prehospital we give them just enough to create the desire for the bonus size bag. I guess morphine is too old school, but it’s still the only tool of choice in combat medic’s tool box.”
“I’m a nurse that has worked with addiction centers admistering buprennorphine on sight. I am also a EMT who understands the feeling of being out in the streets feeling that we could be doing more. I think this is awesome. Great work; congratulations.”
