EMS initiated Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder

Funded by the NIH HEAL Initiative℠

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) encounters for opioid overdose and withdrawal offer a crucial touchpoint to initiate buprenorphine treatment and to increase treatment participation rates for persons with opioid use disorder (OUD). This project will develop and refine a prehospital EMS clinical field protocol to initiate buprenorphine in persons with OUD presenting with an overdose requiring naloxone rescue or acute opioid withdrawal. Employing a Delphi Consensus process and stakeholder focus groups; followed by a sequence of pragmatic controlled field studies, the study will provide preliminary feasibility, acceptability, and safety data. Finally, a multi-site, systematic, prospective evaluation trial will be conducted to assess the rates of engagement in continuation of medication for OUD post EMS initiation.