Substance Use Disorders
This section provides EMS professionals with resources and training focused on identifying, managing and responding to patients with substance use disorders (SUDs). Articles cover recognition of drug and alcohol use in the field, treatment best practices, harm reduction strategies, and the evolving role of EMS in the opioid crisis. Learn how to address provider safety, compassion fatigue and stigma, while improving patient outcomes through evidence-based care and community partnerships.
The clinical decline in patients with HCQ toxicity can be quite precipitous: be prepared with close cardiac monitoring
While preliminary data shows no significant change in overdose numbers, one agency describes how stay-at-home orders have impacted overdose locations and outreach efforts
In this episode, our co-hosts welcome Community Paramedic Lt. J.D. Postage, who works with Project FORT, the Violet Township Fire Department’s substance abuse program
The new court puts users into treatment within hours of their arrest instead of days and requires heavier supervision from judges
As we reflect on the past 10 years, here’s a look at the videos that resonated the most with readers
Police said the boy ran to a neighbor’s house to call 911 after finding the women lying unconscious
Deputies said Charlene Pigg never told responders about the second overdose victim
Researchers found local differences, with opioid prescribing six times higher in some counties than others
Our co-hosts discuss the “three strikes, you’re out” overdose rule a councilman proposed and how another county will soon distribute free naloxone
The storefront sites give addicts clean syringes, medical supervision and freedom from arrest
Commissioners unanimously approved a measure to allow the health department to give away doses of the drug to anyone who completes state-certified training on how to use it
After accepting that personal change is inevitable, here is how you can begin to handle that change for you and your family
As we move on from the uproar over “three strikes and you’re dead,” it’s time for EMS professionals to contribute ideas to solve the overdose epidemic
Each day, Dustin Cinnamon agreed to swallow a placebo or a non-FDA-approved pill used in the treatment of chemo-induced nausea
The law allows nurses to destroy unused prescription medication and increases data sharing between agencies about overdose and abuse
Extrapolating the consequences of a policy limiting opioid overdose treatment that goes against the foundation of EMS
Public policy debate, reduced access to prescription narcotics and societal desire to make real change are needed to confront the deadly opioid epidemic
Douglas Adkins said no new method has been adopted and responders will continue to render aid
The street pill disguised as the painkiller Percocet could be linked to the deaths of as many as four people
A proposal to withhold treatment from opioid overdose patients shows the epidemic’s continuing stress on EMS providers and its strain on municipal budgets
Fire-Rescue International conference speakers discuss the magnitude of the epidemic and the challenges it presents for the fire and EMS service
Responders arrived after the woman’s boyfriend called 911 and the baby was born in the driveway
A census sheet of the body count shows 24 days in May when more than 20 bodies were stored at the morgue
Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley sued three top U.S. opioid drugmakers for consumer fraud
If an overdose victim has not performed community service on their third overdose, then responders would not be dispatched to the call
This vicious cycle experienced by many addicts has added a new facet to Ohio’s grim war against opioid abuse: compassion fatigue
Adam Shay was the first of 19 drug overdose victims to donate organs in Ohio in 2014
Regan Nichols is accused of prescribing controlled dangerous substances to patients without a legitimate medical need
Steve Sundquist said he has been sober since enrolling in a 75-day treatment program
The bills would limit the amount of opioids that can be prescribed and require a “bona fide” physician-patient relationship to dispense drugs
More than 250 first responder agencies, public health departments and qualifying non-profit community groups across 35 states, have received donated EVZIO Auto-injectors
The city is on track to spend $100,000 on naloxone in 2017, despite a budget of $10,000
Only 27 percent were given buprenorphine or naltrexone during 2001 to 2014, years when addiction was soaring
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