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.
Millions in funding are now available to support prevention, treatment and recovery programs
What happens if EMS providers who use marijuana safely and legally test positive days later in violation of policies?
EMS grant guru Corey Carlson breaks down the nationwide opioid settlements and how emergency service providers can benefit
Mayor Michelle Wu said first responders, health professionals have encountered crowds of over 200 in the Mass and Cass area
The St. Tammany Fire Protection District pilot program will use a behavioral health center specialist for crisis calls
The bill presumes disabling or fatal infectious diseases were suffered in the line of duty as a result of injury due to uncapped needles
A New Kensington Ambulance Service paramedic was punched in the eye and the ED staff were threatened
First responders are not immune from the opioid crisis; here’s what to know
Senate Bill 186 allows the use of Opvee as overdoses in the state are rising
First responders in Oceanside faced six men down due to a drug overdose
Mercer County officials are placing the devices after a medical emergency at the Courthouse Annex earlier this year
The bill introduced by Supervisor Matt Dorsey would require pharmacies to stock the nasal spray or face fines
“We don’t know whether xylazine is increasing the risk of overdose or reducing the risk of overdose,” Dr. Lewis Nelson of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School said
EMS transported the driver to a Palm Coast hospital to be treated for “ingesting a large amount of narcotics”
Honolulu EMS warns personnel to be on the lookout for signs of xylazine
Matthew W. Milburn told first responders the unconscious subject was ’10-4' and they could cancel their response
Hennepin EMS collaborated with addiction medicine experts to establish a treatment protocol
Xylazine, often mixed with fentanyl, has necrotizing effects that rot the skin and lead to amputations
Knowing how xylazine presents clinically, as well as how it impacts overdose management is important for any provider responding to illicit drug overdoses
Albuterol, fentanyl and naloxone injectable are among the drugs being recalled – many of which are in very short supply, with no alternate source available
The call volume has been increasing every year and includes more than drug-related overdoses
Studies, funded by the federal government, found Opvee achieved similar recovery results to Narcan
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to spend millions to provide Narcan but the end of grant funding may impact delivery
Over 2,200 unhoused people died in 2021, a sharper increase than in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic
By the end of May, every firefighter in Chattanooga will have completed online training about xylazine, a sedative veterinary drug, based on information from the DEA
“There is a lot of discussion about overdose prevention centers, but ultimately, we need data to see if they are working or not,” said Dr. Nora Volkow
Christopher Robert Pattinson was indicted by a grand jury last year
Sheriff’s deputies were the last people to see the singer alive; they did a welfare check after he was seen huffing an inhalant on an Instagram live video
Wilkes-Barre FD members returned to class with questions; “It provided timelessness,” said Thomas Franko, Wilkes University assistant professor
The Office of National Drug Control Policy is requesting $11 million to develop a strategy to tackle xylazine’s spread, which includes seeking an antidote
The Index tracks data for more than 2,600 EMS agencies across the country
Alcohol-related EMS calls fell in nearby Chelsea, which had a half-year restriction
