'Accidental Fentanyl Overdose is Not a Thing'

"Fake news" stories that tell tales of law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel being hurt or injured by touching or inhaling fentanyl are prevalent today. In this article from Emergency Medicine News, author Dan Runde, MD, fact checks these "stories" and addresses the fear these articles spread--fear that's promtping unnecessary expenditures on overprotecting first responders and medical personnel as well as potentiallty harming patients. Read more at Emergency Medicine News.   Editor's Take: JEMS was alerted to this excellent article in Emergency Medicine News by Seth Hawkins, MD, the executive editor of Wilderness Medicine, who commented: "I would be fascinated by the phenomenon of #fakenews in EMS and law enforcement if it was not so damaging to our operations, and disheartening about our ability to follow actual medical science and evidence. So let's say again: FIRST RESPONDERS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT DO NOT NEED TO FEAR SKIN CONTACT WITH OPIOIDS. Repeat as needed. Add hand claps between words if that helps." Hawkins goes on to suggest that readers share this information with others, concluding, "Our jobs as emergency responders and law enforcement are hard enough with real risks, we don't need to be creating fake ones."
Source: JEMS: Journal of Emergency Medical Services News - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: News Operations Source Type: news