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.
In its second year, the benchmark report based on EMS national data digs deeper into five key metrics and adds two additional measures
Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Carlos Rosario shares his recovery after being struck on a roadway and promotes safety during Distracted Driver Awareness Month
Public safety experts discuss how they were able to identify and implement forward-thinking local approaches to address national problems like cardiac arrest and opioid overdose
Paramedics administered four doses of naloxone on the man’s daughter after she overdosed
The contest is aimed at developing a mobile phone app that will help a person having or witnessing an opioid overdose get the quickest access to naloxone
The causes of chronic pain and the role of community paramedics in treating it as a disease with a pathophysiological process discussed at EMS World Expo
Gov. Rick Snyder said it’s another powerful tool in the efforts to fight prescription drug and opioid abuse across Michigan
Employees saw two individuals passed out in their car at the pizzeria parking lot
Under the state’s Medi-Cal program, the antidote is available to patients without any copay
A 9-month-old girl, 3-year-old boy and 5-year-old boy who were inside the home were taken to a hospital to be evaluated
The store’s officials said they hope making the drug available will help loved ones and family members save lives and avoid overdose deaths
Types and frequency of traumatic injury secondary to marijuana intoxication described at EMS World Expo World Trauma Symposium
The grant will help train first responders to recognize an opioid overdose and how to administer naloxone when an overdose occurs
First responders dealt with a total of 48 overdoses between Tuesday and Thursday morning
Before schools can be stocked with Narcan, staff must undergo training on how to administer it
There is a simple solution to the opioid overdose crisis, but denying medical patients a lifesaving drug is not the answer
First responders administered Narcan to the dispatcher, who was found on the floor and barely breathing
Slightly more than half of those that overdosed were men between the ages of 25 and 46
Carfentanil, an elephant sedative, is a hundred times stronger than fentanyl and much stronger than heroin
Guilford County EMS partners with the N.C. Harm Reduction Coalition to distribute naloxone to patients who refuse transport after an opioid overdose
School officials have said that the move to stock the antidote is not a result of students overdosing on school property, but as a precaution
Authorities say people have expressed frustration about rescuing addicts who often immediately resume using the potentially deadly drug
Capsules of fentanyl appeared to have been drilled into with a needle, some of the narcotic fluids removed, and the fluid levels restored with some other liquid
Officers said the woman was unresponsive; they broke a window so they could revive her with naloxone
More than 3,000 people in North Carolina have died from opioid overdoses since 2012
Michael Huckleby, 30, shoved a medic who was attempting to treat a pair of individuals overdosing on opioids
EMS participation in harm reduction strategies, like giving a naloxone kit to an overdose patient who refuses transport, is worth the cost
Firefighters who have just been cleared to give naloxone report combative patients
The driver told police he was taking his female passenger to the hospital when he passed out
In June, North Carolina became the third state to allow pharmacists to sell naloxone without a prescription
Kratom, currently sold as a health supplement, is often used by individuals as an alternative to heroin
In just four hours on Aug. 15, 28 people overdosed in Huntington; 26 of them were saved
Authorities said nearly 300 overdoses have been reported in the Cincinnati area beginning Aug. 19
