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.
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
Medical Director and Emergency Physician Gene Hern explores the potential for treating patients with opioid use disorder with buprenorphine
Titrating naloxone through an intranasal dose through a nebulizer and monitoring with capnography can reduce the risks of opioid withdrawal symptoms to the patient and EMS provider
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
An official said paramedics respond to between six and eight overdoses a day
Adults can receive free training, certification and a prescription for naloxone in two-hour training sessions
By monitoring vitals during drug use, nurses can administer oxygen and IV fluids to keep patients alive
EMS will work with law enforcement, doctors and public health officials to head off overdose spikes “like a measles outbreak”
In 2015, 2,590 people in Ohio died of opioid overdoses, which includes heroin, fentanyl, and other prescription overdoses
Some of the patients were found unconscious or experiencing seizures
Officials are increasing Narcan access and reducing opioid prescriptions, but the problem has grown
A total of 32 people from Skid Row have been transported to hospitals this week
Narcan will be provided free of charge by Summit County Public Health
The musician weighed 112 lbs. when he died in April; an autopsy revealed that the fatal dose would have killed anyone regardless of size
With opioid overdoses on the rise, knowing the facts and risks of fentanyl are crucial to EMS
In this quick clip, our co-hosts discuss a drug that is 10,000 time more powerful than morphine
Some departments pay over $100 per shot of Narcan; certain overdoses may require multiple treatments
Here is the “never-do” list if you want to have a long and prosperous career in EMS
Officials believe greater access to Narcan and a new good Samaritan law have saved lives
The new drug, PZM21, offers pain relief without causing a surge of dopamine
Officials suspected that a stronger cut of heroin was responsible for the spike in calls
As police become more active in Narcan saves, departments consider a new approach to the opioid crisis
Carfentanil is 100 times more potent than fentanyl, and requires multiple doses of Narcan to counteract
Community organizers are taking steps to deal with the state’s growing opioid epidemic
Illegal drugs and adverse environmental conditions are a potent combination at mass gathering events covered by EMS providers
Some overdoses were treated with naloxone
Deputies will carry naloxone in nasal spray form; AMR also hopes to expand training to EMTs
The seminar will discuss new approaches for treating opioid use disorders in the ER
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