12-03-2025
New FDA rules change drug policy for rescue units
HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) — If you've ever called an ambulance to your house, you know they keep a kit full of medications and anything they need with them so they're ready to respond to any crisis.
Fire and rescue departments across Virginia, though, are having to make changes to the way they store and transport those drugs — and it might change the way you're billed for that emergency call.
It's due to the Drug Supply Chain Security Act that takes effect next month, and while it's a big change for fire departments, it also gives them a bit more freedom when it comes to treating their patients.
'The EMS agencies are now becoming the pharmacy said Dr. Carl Wentzel, operational medical director for Suffolk Fire & Rescue, 'where before, our pre-hospital drug use supply came from the local area hospitals.'
Up until now, EMS agencies operated on a box-for-box exchange after every call.
'Meaning, if I use this box and if I only use aspirin or only used epinephrine, I would take this whole box, take it to the pharmacy, [and] they would then return me a completely new box,' said Suffolk Fire & Rescue Capt. Jeff Matthews.
But there was no 'chain of custody,' meaning the pharmacies didn't know which medications went to which patient. Now, EMS teams are in charge of that. It's partly in response to the opioid crisis.
'They're appropriate medications when given in the correct way,' Wentzel said, 'but it's putting tighter control on management of those types of medications.'
Wentzel said it will help them serve folks in the community better — giving them the freedom to stock up on drugs they use most often on calls and better adapt to changes in care instead of waiting on another agency to approve new protocol.
Many states have been doing this for a while, but now, the Food and Drug Administration is mandating all states be on the same page. It took Suffolk Fire & Rescue six months and $450,000 to build a makeshift pharmacy to be in compliance.
But with this new process, will the patient end up paying more?
'What we want to do is study it for one year and see what the increased cost is to manage and supply our pharmacy and our IV boxes,' said Suffolk Fire Chief Mike Barakey. 'And when that occurs, we'll have real data to see what can be worked on in our EMS billing company to figure out what we need to do to offset that increase.'
That way, they can figure out what the department can absorb and what costs they might have to pass on to the patient.
Wentzel said Suffolk has been a leader when it comes to this new process, and several agencies have come to analyze their setup to get an idea for their model.
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