A drug-related Good Samaritan Law and calling emergency medical services for drug overdoses in a Canadian setting.
Soroush MoallefJinCheol ChoiM-J MilloyKora DeBeckThomas KerrKanna Hayashi PhDPublished in: Harm reduction journal (2021)
We observed EMS being called about half the time and the GSL did not appear to encourage EMS-calling. We also found that individuals living in SROs were less likely to call EMS, which raises concern given that fatal overdose cases are concentrated in SROs in our setting. The link between many naloxone administrations and EMS-calling could indicate that those with prior experience in responding to overdose events were more willing to call EMS. Increased efforts are warranted to ensure effective emergency responses for drug overdoses among PWUD.