OPTIONS Referral Overview

Overdose Prevention Through Intensive Outreach Naloxone and Safety (OPTIONS) 

EMS Referral Program 

The OPTIONS Referral program provides a pathway to recovery by providing EMS clinicians with the education and tools to refer substance use-involved patients to local harm prevention and recovery resources.    

Maine EMS has produced an OPTIONS Program Training module in MEMSEd to prepare clinicians for conversations with patients for referrals. Once trained EMS clinicians who encounter a patient with substance use involvement should discuss with the patient the availability of additional help through the OPTIONS program. The primary focus is on patients who refuse transport as patients who are transported should have other opportunities offering harm prevention and recovery pathways.   

When an EMS clinician encounters a patient experiencing an issue with substance use, a new section will be available in the MEFIRS report named Substance Use Programs. This section will be a section named OPTIONS Referral having a question of Did you Attempt to refer the patient to the OPTIONS program? The responses available for this field are “Yes, Patient Accepts Referral”, “Yes, Patient Declined Referral”, and “No”. When the clinician selects “Yes, Patient Accepts Referral” then they will be required to have a signature with a signature type of “OPTIONS Referral”.  

After a clinician documents “Yes, Patient Accepts Referral” AND records a signature of “OPTIONS Referral” the automated referral process begins. It is important to note that the report must be saved and if the report had been entered into Elite Field, then the incident must be posted.  

Once saved or posted file is generated containing the contact information and placed into a secure repository. An email is also sent to the OPTIONS Liaison notifying them that they have a new referral. The OPTIONS Liaison will then access the file and acknowledge receipt of the information. Maine EMS will monitor notifications to ensure they are acknowledged.  

OPTIONS Liaisons will attempt to contact the patient within 48 hours once the referral has been submitted and work with the patient to find pathways to recovery and other resources which the patient may need.