Prior Emergency Medical Services Utilization Among People Who Had an Accidental Opioid-Involved Fatal Drug Overdose-Rhode Island, 2018-2020.
Kailai DuanLaura C ChambersMelissa BastaRachel P ScagosCarolina Roberts-SantanaBenjamin D HallowellPublished in: Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974) (2023)
In Rhode Island, decreased EMS utilization because of the COVID-19 pandemic was not a driving force behind the increase in overdose fatalities observed in 2020. However, with half of people who had an accidental opioid-involved fatal drug overdose having an EMS run in the 2 years before death, emergency care is a potential opportunity to link people to health care and social services.