Researchers at Yale University surveyed almost 400 emergency department (ED) clinicians on their readiness to provide buprenorphine for patients. After examining the responses from clinicians in Manhattan, Baltimore, Seattle and Cincinnati, researchers found that one in five ED clinicians are ready to provide buprenorphine for patients who present with opioid use disorder. Clinicians who did not feel ready to prescribe buprenorphine reported the following barriers: lack of formal training, time limitations, lack of knowledge of local treatment centers, absence of referral networks, and belief that prescribing buprenorphine is not the emergency department’s responsibility. This study was the first portion of a larger project from the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials network. The goal of this project is to fund research into strategies that aid in increasing the dispensation of buprenorphine prescriptions in emergency departments.
|
As COVID-19 continues to maintain its presence in the United States, healthcare workers continue to learn and adapt to best practices of protecting themselves and patients. As new research on the effectiveness of various personal protective equipment (PPE) and COVID-19 emerges, new recommendations have been issued for emergency medical service (EMS) workers. An overarching recommendation includes an increase in the use of masks by both EMS providers and patients to prevent the spread of coronavirus and other respiratory diseases. Additionally, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported the COVID-19 is able to live on services for an extended period of time, the use of lightweight gowns by EMS workers is encouraged. These gowns should be worn for all interactions with patients and changed between calls to prevent the spread of the virus pathogen.
The pharmaceutical company, Braeburn, has moved for final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their new drug Brixadi. This drug is an injectable form of buprenorphine that can be adjusted to provide enough of a dose for a weekly or monthly injection. Brixadi had been tentatively approved by the FDA in December 2018 in order to treat moderate to severe opioid use disorder. This final approval from the FDA would allow this drug to be marketed to the public in December 2020. In previous studies, Brixadi has been found to be as safe as naloxone and effective in decreasing opioid withdrawal and cravings. Braeburn reported that they expect the FDA to approve Brixadi by Dec. 1, 2020.
|