EMS Data Can Help Stop the Opioid Epidemic

In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the noteworthy and sobering fact that the United States recorded the highest number of opioid overdose deaths in the nation's history, following a steady increase during the previous decade. More than 1.5 times as many people died from overdoses than motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) in 2014; from 2001 to 2014, nearly half a million people died from an overdose. Opioids caused nearly two-thirds of those deaths—meaning 78 people in the U.S. are dying every day from an opioid overdose.1 These are staggering numbers that reflect a cost to individuals, their families and society at large. Unfortunately, the problem doesn't seem to be getting better, despite efforts to control narcotics, educate the public and expand access to overdose-reversal agents.2 Although the media has recently turned its attention to opioid overdoses, many EMS professionals know this has been a slow-moving disaster for quite some time. Only after it reached extremely critical levels has the opioid epidemic come to the attention of the general public and now even a prominent national political issue. To better understand the epidemic, how it impacts EMS and what role we play in preventing fatal overdoses, we need to know: What opioids are; The current state of opioid abuse and how we got here; What EMS can offer in the fight against opioid overdoses; and What approaches are being used to address the epidemic. What are Opioids? Opioids ...
Source: JEMS Patient Care - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Operations Patient Care Source Type: news