VIDEO: Madison Fire Department ambulances, community paramedics and the Community Alternative Response Emergency Services (CARES) team began to carry new medicine on Friday that helps individuals struggling with opioid addiction.
The medicine is called buprenorphine. MFD hopes carrying this will prevent opioid use and opioid-related deaths. The medicine, when administered orally, reduces withdrawal and cravings, prevents misuse and increases protections against accidental overdose over the next 24 hours.
MFD Medical Director Dr. Megan Gussick said the drug helps reduce withdrawal that often occurs after individuals receive Narcan.
After the tablet dissolves under the tongue, buprenorphine works within just minutes, Dr. Gussick explained. Another benefit to the medicine is that it is much safer than another drug that treats opioid use disorder, known as methadone.