Expanded Access to Naloxone Among Firefighters, Police Officers, and Emergency Medical Technicians in Massachusetts

Abstract

Naloxone is a medication that reverses respiratory depression from opioid overdose if given in time. Paramedics routinely administer naloxone to opioid overdose victims in the prehospital setting, and many states are moving to increase access to the medication. Several jurisdictions have expanded naloxone administration authority to nonparamedic first responders, and others are considering that step. We report here on policy change in Massachusetts, where several communities have equipped emergency medical technicians, law enforcement officers, and firefighters with naloxone.

The Prescription Opioid and Heroin Crisis: A Public Health Approach to an Epidemic of Addiction

“…Evidence shows that clients of syringe exchange programs demonstrated the ability to successfully reverse overdoses when they had been provided with naloxone and training (73). In addition, providing family members of opioid-addicted individuals and nonparamedic first responders with naloxone may be an effective strategy for rescuing overdose victims (21,90). At present, there are more than 188 community-based naloxone distribution programs in 15 states and the District of Columbia (11).…”

Police officer attitudes towards intranasal naloxone training

“…One example of public safety expansion has been training and distributing naloxone to law enforcement officers (Davis et al, 2014;Wermeling, 2010). Police are often at the scene of an overdose prior to emergency medical personal and so equipping officers with naloxone and training them to detect the signs of an opioid overdose could help to reduce rates of fatal overdose.…”

Intranasal naloxone administration by police first responders is associated with decreased opioid overdose deaths

“…However, in most jurisdictions, the naloxone rescue kits can be supplied only to the at-risk individual and thus cannot be given to a concerned family member or friend of the patient [4]. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health operates an overdose education and naloxone distribution pilot program, similar to the police officer NPP described here, which has expanded naloxone access to emergency medical technicians, firefighters, and police officers [11]. This program has administered naloxone to more than 700 individuals since its institution in 2010; although data on death rates or other measures of program efficacy are not currently available [11].…”