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Connecticut May Mandate Transportation for Opioid Overdoses

By Allison G. S. Knox
Contributor, EDM Digest

The opioid crisis has created serious issues for emergency medical services, law enforcement and fire departments. In Connecticut, a proposed piece of legislation would correct an important patient care issue, which involves transporting an opioid drug overdose patient to a hospital even after the patient received a dose of Narcan, an opioid inhibitor to reverse the overdose. The proposed policy would correct a potential problem in some Connecticut communities.

How Opioid Inhibitors Work

Naxolone and Narcan (the brand name of Naxolone) are opioid inhibitors that bond better to brain cell receptors than opioids. These medications will pull individuals out of an opioid-related overdose almost immediately, saving countless lives.

But an opioid user who requires Narcan or Naxolone to reverse an opioid overdose also needs professional medical care that might not involve a hospital.

Patients Need to Go to Hospital after Any Overdose, Even with Narcan Administered by Private Citizens

In some states, private citizens can be provided with doses of Narcan to prevent overdoses in the general public. Narcan injection is available as a sterile solution for intravenous, intramuscular and subcutaneous administration.  However, if a patient is not transported to a hospital shortly after receiving Narcan, his or her life is in danger because overdoses require follow-up medical care. This is exactly what happened in Connecticut.

A mother in Guilford lost her son because he was not transported to a hospital after receiving a dose of Narcan. His death was due to opioid withdrawal. She is a now strong supporter of the proposed legislation that would require transportation to medical facilities for all patients who have been given Narcan.

Connecticut Policy Does Not Focus on Overdose Patients Transported to Hospital by Private Citizens

Emergency Medical Services is a pre-hospital care public safety agency. In most cases, patients are transported to a hospital by emergency medical technicians (EMTs) after they have been administered drugs like Narcan and Naxolone.

The proposed Connecticut legislation would cover on those EMTs, who already routinely transport opioid overdose patients to hospitals. However, the bill does not cover individuals who received Narcan by others than EMTs or paramedics. Examples might include pharmacists, private physicians, physicians’ assistants, and nurses.

In addition, patients who receive Narcan may become violent when the medication revives them.

Good Samaritans who administer the drug may not be able to transport that person to a medical facility. Also, they might be unwilling to take patients to hospitals out of concern for potential legal or healthcare repercussions. Like many laws, there will always be cases that fall outside the purview of the legislation.

New Connecticut Policy Would Provide EMS with More Resources for Overdose Patient Management

The proposed legislation might not close all loopholes in dealing with patients who have overdosed on opioids. But it certainly would save lives, particularly if EMS personnel are required to always transport overdose patients to hospitals.

If it passes, the new law could also result in emergency medical services receiving more state resources to manage violent overdose cases and improve the safety factor statewide.

Allison G.S. Knox

Allison G. S. Knox teaches in the fire science and emergency management departments at the University. Focusing on emergency management and emergency medical services policy, she often writes and advocates about these issues. Allison works as an Intermittent Emergency Management Specialist in the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response. She also serves as the At-Large Director of the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, Chancellor of the Southeast Region on the Board of Trustees with Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society in Social Sciences, chair of Pi Gamma Mu’s Leadership Development Program and Assistant Editor for the International Journal of Paramedicine. Prior to teaching, Allison worked for a member of Congress in Washington, D.C. and in a Level One trauma center emergency department. She is an emergency medical technician and holds five master’s degrees.

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