Yatsco Andrea J, Garza Rachel D, Champagne-Langabeer Tiffany, Langabeer James R
Houston Emergency Opioid Engagement System, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
Houston Police Department, Narcotics Division, USA.
Subst Abuse. 2020 Aug 31;14:1178221820953390. doi: 10.1177/1178221820953390. eCollection 2020.
Opioid overdoses continue to be a leading cause of death in the US. This public health crisis warrants innovative responses to help prevent fatal overdose. There is continued advocacy for collaborations between public health partners to create joint responses. The high correlation between persons with opioid use disorder who have a history of involvement in the criminal justice system is widely recognized, and allows for treatment intervention opportunities. Law enforcement-led treatment initiatives are still relatively new, with a few sparse early programs emerging almost a decade ago and only gaining popularity in the past few years. A lack of published methodologies creates a gap in the knowledge of applied programs that are effective and can be duplicated. This article seeks to outline an interagency relationship between police and healthcare that illustrates arrest is not the only option that law enforcement may utilize when encountering persons who use illicit substances. Program methods of a joint initiative between law enforcement and healthcare in a large, metropolitan area will be reviewed, supplemented with law enforcement overdose data and statistics on law enforcement treatment referrals.
阿片类药物过量仍然是美国主要的死亡原因之一。这场公共卫生危机需要创新应对措施来帮助预防致命的药物过量。人们持续倡导公共卫生合作伙伴之间开展合作，以形成联合应对方案。有阿片类药物使用障碍且有参与刑事司法系统历史的人群之间的高度相关性已得到广泛认可，这为治疗干预提供了机会。由执法部门主导的治疗举措仍相对较新，大约十年前出现了一些早期的零星项目，只是在过去几年才开始受到欢迎。缺乏已发表的方法学导致在有效且可复制的应用项目知识方面存在空白。本文旨在概述警方与医疗保健部门之间的跨部门关系，说明逮捕并非执法部门在遇到使用非法药物的人员时唯一可采用的选择。将回顾一个大城市地区执法部门与医疗保健部门联合倡议的项目方法，并辅以执法部门药物过量数据以及执法部门治疗转介统计数据。
