Summary: U.K. fake paramedics, lifting safety in healthcare law, disease preparedness holes, and we’ll look at another special drug of abuse called Kratom, with Lisa Booze from the Maryland Poison Center. If that’s what you’re looking for, you found it, right here on this week’s episode of the MedicCast.<br> The MedicCast is a proud member of the <a title="ProMed Network site" href="http://promednetwork.com/" target="_blank">ProMed Podcast Network</a>.<br> <a href="http://studentloangroup.us/podcast"></a>This episode is sponsored in part by our student loan consolidation and forgiveness partners at <a href="http://StudentLoanGroup.us/podcast" target="_blank">StudentLoanGroup.us/podcast</a>. And also brought to you by <a title="Med Math Book" href="http://medmathsimplified.com" target="_blank">Med Math Simplified</a>. Check out the new book for nurses, students and other medical professionals on Amazon, or your favorite bookseller online. Get it on <a title="Amazon Med Math Simplified link" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=med%20math%20simplified&linkCode=ur2&sprefix=med%20mat%2Caps%2C169&tag=themediccastp-20&url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&linkId=PEOAZ4JTRW3TJGOA">Amazon.com</a>.<br> MedicCast Episode 470<br> Good day and welcome to this week’s episode of the MedicCast. I’m your host, Jamie Davis the Podmedic and I’d like to welcome you to this week’s show. In this week’s EMS news items we look at a new issue they’re finding in England with fake paramedics. What’s up with that?<br> Then, in this week’s special tip segment, we have a look at the plant drug of abuse called Kratom. I have Lisa Booze back from the Maryland Poison Center with her take on managing these patients in this emerging drug of abuse the U.S. poison centers are seeing more and more of. How do you get ready to treat a Kratom overdose? We’ll find out later in the show after the news.<br> News:<br> <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3394706/Worrying-rise-fake-paramedics-patients-danger.html" target="_blank">Fake Paramedics a Problem in the U.K.</a><br> <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/healthcare/263546-new-healthcare-facility-safety-bill-a-big-win-for-nursing" target="_blank">Healthcare Worker Safety Misses EMS Sector</a><br> <a href="http://consumer.healthday.com/infectious-disease-information-21/misc-infections-news-411/more-than-half-of-u-s-states-not-well-prepared-for-disease-outbreaks-study-706229.html" target="_blank">Disease Outbreak Preparedness Lags In U.S.</a><br> EMS Tip of the Week: Kratom – Old Plant, New Abuse<br> <a href="http://www.mediccast.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/kratom-plant.jpg"></a>Kratom is a plant/tree indigenous to Thailand and Southeast Asia and is in the same family as the coffee tree. Since the 19th century, fresh Kratom leaves have been chewed in this part of the world as an herbal medicinal drug to increase work productivity and to treat diarrhea. Today, it’s more commonly used for its psychoactive effects and its popularity seems t be increasing.<br> In the United States and other countries, Kratom is typically consumed in capsules or as a powder, but can be made into a tea. Many different kratom products are available for purchase, often over the internet, each with its own distinctive set of curative or mood-enhancing properties.<br> I have <a href="http://mdpoison.com" target="_blank">Lisa Booze from the Maryland Poison Center</a> on the show again this week to talk about this drug and challenges faced by healthcare professionals like nurses and others who encounter patients using and abusing this plant-based drug. Check it out.<br> Links:<br> <a href="http://mdpoison.com" target="_blank">Maryland Poison Center site</a><br> <a href="http://www.drugfree.org/join-together/addictive-substance-called-kratom-becoming-popular-in-south-fl..."></a>
