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.
Separating fact from fiction on the opioid crisis, fentanyl and its derivatives, and community paramedicine initiatives
Treat acute cardiac syndrome patients with the appropriate order of operations, and consider when traditional treatments may be contraindicated
Mitigate fentanyl fears with NIOSH guidance and basic PPE precautions
The police department will receive 700 devices to swap for the recalled devices and an additional 500 new devices within weeks
EMS1 readers want EMS providers to focus on providing information on rehabilitation centers and where to get help
Officials warned that the handheld device, a nasal syringe, may not deliver the proper or effective dose of naloxone
Opioid prescriptions in emergency rooms and for children would be limited to a seven-day supply
State Child Protective Services investigators became involved after receiving a report of heroin use at the home 24-year-old Ashlee Hutt
The effect includes the physical problems of the addicted newborns and the chaos older children experience as a result of their parents’ addictions
The service will begin asking overdose patients for their preferred funeral home should they not survive their next overdose
A revision of a 2015 law allows pharmacists to prescribe the drug
The council emphasized proper training of EMTs and EMRs for both medication administration and assessment of the patient
The drug task force donated 200 injectable Narcan shots that will be distributed to paramedics across the county
Successful substance abuse treatment requires evidence-based practices, individualized care and program components tailored to unique needs of EMTs and paramedics
The 20-year-old woman was hiking with three friends when she became lethargic and couldn’t walk or talk
Statewide, deaths from heroin overdoses increased from 239 in 2013 to 342 last year
The judge set a $20,000 cash-only bond
In 2014, Manatee County led all 67 counties in heroin overdose deaths per capita
Paramedics and EMTs have used over 45 percent more anti-overdose medical kits than last year
A two-pack of the Narcan nasal spray sells for about $150, which includes a counseling session on how to recognize the signs of an overdose and how to use the product
Improving ePCR systems make it easier to capture, share, monitor and analyze big data for better local and national patient care
The video is making the rounds on social media, renewing the discussion about the region’s heroin epidemic and the community’s response
EMRs are also unable to start intravenous lines or administer nitroglycerin or glycogen
Carfentanil is 10,000 times more powerful than morphine, and a 100 times more potent than fentanyl
The agency said it will open an official public comment period for people to share their experiences using kratom as a medical treatment
The patient removed his restraints and jumped out the back doors of the ambulance
I tell myself that second guessing comes with the territory, and that I did what I could, but sometimes all we can do isn’t enough
Being the first person that a newly revived human sees following a near-death experience is not an event to be taken lightly
When we arrived at the hospital, Nathan’s eyes focused on his toy, imagining some heroic Transformers mission
The state’s Department of Health will provide schools with a nasal spray form of naloxone
Emergency personnel may now carry doses up to four milligrams of naloxone nasal spray
Two words can sum up Indianapolis EMS’ ability to spot the opioid crisis early: big data
