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.
Using restraints to protect a patient from harming themselves or providers is not new to EMS, but the circumstances are
Honor and support EMTs, paramedics, firefighters and police officers on National First Responders Day by acknowledging the toll trauma can take
The compassionate treatment opioid users receive from first responders can lead to education and healing
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
P.A.A.R.I. and partners will train commercial fishermen with Narcan kits donated by Adapt Pharma
Thirty-four other states and the District of Columbia have similar laws
A police report said the grandmother is a recovering heroin addict who takes methadone daily
Police began citing people with a misdemeanor charge of inducing panic if responders revive them with naloxone
Assembly Bill 428 would mandate public and charter schools keep at least two doses of naloxone hydrochloride or other emergency opioid medications on site
St. Charles County Ambulance District paramedics have launched several initiatives to help addicts and prevent opioid abuse
Dr. Henri Wetselaar illegally wrote prescriptions for oxycodone and other painkillers that ended up in the hands of drug addicts and dealers
In 2000, 14 children in the U.S. under age 5 died after ingesting opioids; by 2015, that number climbed to 51
The sites would provide medical supervision, overdose-reversal drugs, clean needles and access to treatment
The program will provide free drug disposal pouches to ensure that medications are disposed of properly
The idea surfaced after an addict was found dead in one of the Civic Center library’s restrooms
The survey collected case data and examined the outcomes of attempted opioid-related overdose reversals reported by first responders and community health organizations
The measure would expand the current Involuntary Treatment Act by including heroin and opioid users under “gravely disabled”
The licensed vocational nurses function as EMTs and paramedics in the prison system
The city hit the national spotlight Aug. 15 when 28 people overdosed within four hours
Cleveland typically sees more overdoses on a daily basis than the number of violent crimes combined
The statute allows judges to impose tougher sentences for reckless or impaired drivers who are repeat offenders or who exceed the speed limit by more than 20 mph
The lawsuit claims the companies sold around 40 million doses of hydrocodone and oxycodone to county pharmacies
