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.
Careful monitoring, witnessed documentation and a record of any actions will protect controlled substances in the ambulance from theft
Further research is needed to determine if naloxone access laws actually increase distribution and use of naloxone, and high-risk behavior by patients with opioid use disorder
Quiz yourself on case studies presented at the Gathering of the Eagles that demonstrate some of the unique effects drugs can have on the heart
About 60 to 70 Boulder police officers will be equipped with nasal atomizers to administer the drug, which reverses the effects of a heroin overdose
An uptick in bizarre calls involving patients who are often naked and delirious from flakka use puts responders in chaotic, dangerous situations
Just before the filming of a news segment, a WPXI photographer began CPR on a man he noticed slumped over in a vehicle
They were stabbed while assisting an ‘intoxicated’ man; the firefighters were listed in stable condition
EMS providers need to stop judging and take a more compassionate tact toward substance abuse users, hosts Chris Cebollero and Kelly Grayson say
Medics treated over 277 people in three weeks for medical emergencies related to synthetic marijuana
It’s time for EMS clinical leaders to discuss the role of targeted antibiotics which are safe and effective when administered to the right patients
2 other students seriously injured by the SUV that plowed into a group of 30 high school students; driver told police he had used drugs
EMS providers were able to extricate and treat the man who was also arrested
Police used a Taser and arrested him; this is the latest in a string of bizarre incidents related to the synthetic drug
High-performing EMS systems need to ensure their personnel are ready for spikes of unusual presentations from trending recreational drugs
A spike in the use of the synthetic drug led to 53 people sickened since Friday
The intoxicated man is “doing fine” after falling from a deck hot tub, landing on a fence, and going against responders’ orders by removing pieces of the posts
The former ambulance company employee was found walking on a nearby street after leaving the scene
There is ongoing concern about someone with little or no medical training administering naloxone to treat overdoses; is the risk worth the reward?
She was arrested after police following up on a separate incident found drugs on her while she was sitting in a personal car near a home
They want greater funding for addiction treatment and want to supply firefighters with Narcan
The ‘very intoxicated’ woman was told to leave her job at Wendy’s where she then stole an ambulance idling in the parking lot
She ran towards officers nude and covered in blood; she is suspected to have taken the hallucinatory street drug
After its control substance agent quit, the volunteer department will have to call a neighboring EMS agency to treat patients that need medication
With the increased use of ketamine by the military medics and emergency departments is it time for more widespread use of ketamine by civilian EMS?
They immediately confessed to driving the ambulance around the block, and broke a sideview mirror when returning the vehicle
With heavy- and binge-drinking on the rise, EMS providers can go beyond basic protocols to help connect patient behavior to consequences
The fired medic is accused of endangering at least three patients; the EMS agency and EMS director were also named in the lawsuit
The mother and her 14-month-old girl died at the scene; two boys, 6 and 7, were also injured and the driver was arrested
Analysis at the county level shows dramatic changes in drinking patterns, especially by women, over a 10-year period
Research highlights the need for more basic EMS providers, especially in rural areas, to administer IN Narcan