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.
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
Grant funding sources have directed focus on the social, economic and health-related issues in rural areas, including the opioid epidemic
While narcotics can bring short-term pain relief, they’re often misprescribed
Authorities said the drugs are “extremely scary” and are made solely for the illicit market
Officials think the money would be better spent on local EMTs who respond to the opioid overdoses
Authorities said Genero Ajqui was drunk when he crashed into an ambulance and killed Lahiri Garcia and Paul Besaw
Responders found a car had driven through a fence and struck a student
Officials said the gloves may allow absorption into the person’s tissue, turning the responder into a victim
The drug has already killed several and hospitalized dozens
The couple’s three kids were watching a movie in the car when it happened
Thirty-eight percent of of overdoses from January to May occurred in public places
The DEA says carfentanil is about 10,000 times stronger than morphine
The current plan is to update training to make sure that first responders are aware of the risks posed by contact with fentanyl
Police said the man, who was involved in a car crash, had overdosed; he was arrested and charged with third-degree assault
A neighbor called 911 and she and others cared for the children as paramedics arrived to revive the couple
It’s the first time the FDA has asked a drugmaker to remove an opioid painkiller from the market
Several people told doctors and nurses that they became ill after swallowing yellow pills
The letter reiterated support for a thorough, nationwide approach to resolving the systematic issue of opioid abuse
Officials said 790 Arizonans died of opioid overdoses last year
Paramedics gave the child one dose of naloxone and he received another at a hospital
Heroin is costing taxpayers millions of dollars annually
The boy’s mother ran away shortly after the incident
Out of nearly 40,000 patients given powerful pain drugs, only four addictions were documented
The firefighter allegedly replaced various prescription drugs with saline
While preliminary tests indicate potential exposure to heroin and fentanyl, it is unclear how they were exposed
Medication-assisted treatment helps by moving a patient from powerful painkillers to a regular dose of a legal opioid-based medication
A DEA special agent said that acrylfentanyl has shown some possibility of being resistant to naloxone
David Reitz, 28, drove erratically until the 11-year-old child asked him to pull over
The report’s findings help identify when and where highly potent opioids are introduced into a community
An officer had to be revived with four doses of Narcan after he accidentally came into contact with fentanyl
EMS providers administered naloxone 136 times in 2016; the state of Illinois mandates that all responders carry naloxone
There were more prescriptions filled for opioids in the state in 2015 than there were residents
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