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.
From dangerous active shooter events, to ET3, Ebola, opioids and community paramedicine, EMS providers faced many significant incidents and evolving trends in the 2010s
EMS leaders must be conscious and intentional in applying labeling lenses to patients and providers
What first responders need to know about asking for help, getting into treatment, and returning to work
The paramedic yelled, “Gun!” and one of the firefighters pinned the man’s arm down as the other firefighter tried to get the patient to release the gun
It’s the second time within a month that firefighter-EMT Samantha Jean Lopez has been charged with DUI
The nation’s opioid crisis is forcing hospitals to begin rolling out non-addictive alternatives to treatments that have long been the mainstay for the severe pain of trauma and surgery
The rate of prescription opioids dispensed in Utah grew 30 percent from 2002 to 2015
An unconscious patient, with absent or ineffective breathing, may be in sudden cardiac arrest or have overdosed on an opioid; here’s how to assess and treat the patient
The tranquilizer can be absorbed through the skin or inhaled and just a small amount can be lethal
What each form of fentanyl means for the user and first responder
Police Chief Mike McNeely says it’s among the most bizarre things he’s heard in four decades of policing
The measure would provide immunity from civil liability to health care professionals who distribute medicine for life-threatening asthma attacks or allergic reactions
Only half of U.S. treatment centers accept teenagers and even fewer offer teen-focused groups or programs
The driver slammed into the passenger side of the rig; none of the responders working 10 feet away were hurt
At the facilities, medical personnel can intervene in the event of an overdose
Overdoses now rank with cancer, strokes and heart attacks among the top killers in the state
The 4-year-old boy would be the seventh child under 5 to die after swallowing opioids in Milwaukee County in the last 19 months
Data is helping the city of Cincinnati and the state of Ohio to find geographic hotspots for overdose and predict opioid risk patterns
An EMS executive director said their job is to save lives, not to decide if someone is worth resuscitating based on their likelihood of relapse
Bruce Lamar Griggs was “in this just for the money” when he sold the heroin mixture that sickened 28 people
The largest proportion of overdose deaths in the state involves fentanyl
The male patient vomited while EMTs were working on him; the firefighters “got it in their eyes and mouth”
The state Board of Education will develop regulations for training, storage and notifying parents after incidents
The EMS providers in the ambulance were taken to the hospital for precaution
How well do you know hydrocodone? This quiz covers proper dosing, potential side effects, and patient reactions. Take this quiz to find out.
At a safe injection site, addicts would have access to clean needles, medical supervision and access to opioid antidotes that can reverse an overdose
Rep. Steve Lynch, the bill’s sponsor, said it will help combat opioid and heroin overdose deaths in the state
The 22-month-old girl was flown to a hospital; her condition hasn’t been released
Prosecutors said Dr. Byung Kang sold 90-count prescriptions for 30 milligram oxycodone pills to numerous patients who didn’t have a medical need
In 2014, New Mexico had one of the highest overdose death rates in the nation, second only to West Virginia
A special report published in Prehospital and Disaster Medicine explains why all mass gatherings are not created equal
Supporters of the bill said it will save lives and help solve the growing problem of heroin overdoses
Administering medications intranasally in the pre-hospital or emergency setting can be easy, fast and non-invasive
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