American Society of Anesthesiologists Express Strong Support for Over-the-Counter Naloxone Use

CHICAGO – In a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) expressed its strong support of naloxone nasal spray products for non-prescription use. Naloxone, a safe life-saving medication that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose and significantly reduces the incidence of opioid overdose deaths, should be available to all patients across the United States as a nonprescription treatment, according to the ASA.

The FDA is holding a hearing today to consider approving naloxone nasal spray as an over-the-counter medication. In addition to the ASA’s letter of support, ASA Committee on Trauma and Emergency Preparedness member Bonnie Milas, M.D., will be commenting in person.

“Improving community access to naloxone nasal spray through over-the-counter use and implementing equitable access solutions are critical components of addressing the opioid epidemic,” said ASA President Michael W. Champeau, M.D., FAAP, FASA in his letter. “Increasing the availability of naloxone nasal spray, especially in communities across the country most impacted by drug overdoses, is a critical component of our efforts to reduce opioid-related overdose deaths and, when combined with the availability of effective treatment of opioid use disorder, to ending the opioid epidemic.”

ASA applauds the FDA for exploring increasing access to this life-saving tool to combat the opioid epidemic and reduce the amount of opioid-related overdoses. Nationwide over-the-counter availability and guidance on best practices for its use would allow naloxone nasal spray to be readily available, prevent state-based access disparities, and allow for the widespread, equitable, and safe use of this lifesaving tool.

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS
Founded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational, research and scientific society with more than 56,000 members organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology. ASA is committed to ensuring physician anesthesiologists evaluate and supervise the medical care of patients before, during and after surgery to provide the highest quality and safest care every patient deserves. For more information about ASA’s resources to reduce opioid and drug related mortality, please see its REVIVEme initiative. For more information on the field of anesthesiology, visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists online at asahq.org. To learn more about the role physician anesthesiologists play in ensuring patient safety, visit asahq.org/madeforthismoment. Like ASA on Facebook and follow ASALifeline on Twitter.

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