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.
Test your knowledge of fentanyl exposure, protection and treatment
From fentanyl, to heroin, to ketamine, to carfentanil: the drug epidemic didn’t start in the back of an ambulance
Our co-hosts are joined by EMS1 video producer Ray Kemp to discuss his latest video project, which looks at an addict’s side of addiction
Studies are mixed about any link between marijuana and violence, but the highly potent edibles have lawmakers pushing for better regulations
Investigators searched her home for a case involving stolen cars, and arrested her for the stolen narcotics
For 30 years agencies were illegally getting supplies from a local hospital; now they will have to buy larger quantities through wholesalers, leading to more waste and security concerns
He was charged with prescription fraud but says the detective unlawfully gathered information
Medications were stolen in five break-ins over a week in March; this latest theft was from boxes used to replenish supplies
She wanted her daughter committed to a mental health facility after she tried to commit suicide from breathing cans of spray cleaner; the hospital refused and she killed herself 16 days later
The device will be sold under the commercial name Evzio, and provides verbal instructions when turned on
The service reported 20 vials of the drug had been stolen, is working with the DEA to get to the bottom of it
Inhaling the beans for the quick high has gone viral, but many have reported overdose side effects that include dizziness, vomiting and hallucinations
The part-time EMT swerved into the oncoming lane to pass a car, then swerved back and struck a Jeep Cherokee, killing a 21-year-old who had been out to dinner with his family
He’s faces possible jail time for stealing more than $1,500 of fentanyl and morphine between August 2012 and August 2013 while working as an ambulance medic
With five break-ins this week, police are investigating and crews are doing frequent checks of medicine boxes after finding they had been tampered with
The American being held in a border patrol cell fell and hit his head; the medic thought he was faking an injury, but then found him unresponsive
Officials are pushing to allow responders to carry Narcan
He’s not being blamed for the narcotics going missing, he is being punished for waiting too long to report it
Making Narcan readily available to the public has the potential to give drug users the temptation to push their high to the limit and then return from the brink of death
The mostly volunteer EMTs at the fire department will receive training on how to administer the heroin overdose antidote
At least 17 states and the District of Columbia can publicly administer the heroin overdose antidote, and at least 10 allow for prescriptions to family or friends of drug users
The part-time medic was the target of a weeklong narcotics investigation, and was arrested on a drug felony charge
Buffalo officers will be the first department in their area able to administer the heroin antidote through a nasal spray
He stole painkillers from the fire station twice and is now undergoing treatment and counseling
Widespread distribution is medically safe, but moral concerns over drug abuse cloud the issue
Naloxone is effective at reviving heroine overdose victims, but widespread distribution could make it easier for users to push themselves to the edge
A woman was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving and manslaughter; witnesses say she was speeding up to 100 mph
Terri Elmore testified that she does not remember the night prosecutors say she lost control of her car and struck a van, killing a pastor and his wife
Six ambulances responded to the scene after a woman blew through a red light and hit a sedan carrying three kids and four adults
Defense lawyers intend to prove that Terri Elmore, who had a BAC of 0.20, was not drunk in a crash that killed a Texas pastor and his wife
After three overdoes in 24 hours, authorities expect extremely potent or tainted heroin
