Surgeon General wants naloxone widely on hand. Is that feasible?

When Surgeon General Jerome Adams issued an advisory calling for more people to carry naloxone – not just people at overdose risk, but also friends and family – experts and advocates were almost giddy.

This is an “unequivocally positive” step forward, said Leo Beletsky, an associate professor of law and health sciences at Northeastern University.

And not necessarily a surprise. Dr. Adams, who previously was Indiana’s health commissioner, was recruited to be the nation’s top doctor in part because of his work with then-Gov. Mike Pence, now the vice president. In Indiana, Dr. Adams pushed for harm-reduction approaches, which included expanded access to naloxone and the implementation of a needle exchange to combat the state’s much-publicized HIV outbreak, which began in 2015 and was linked to injection drug use.

Others cautioned, though, that his have-naloxone-will-carry recommendation is at best limited in what it can achieve, in part because the drug is relatively expensive.

Kaiser Health News breaks down what the advisory means, experts’ concerns, and what policy approaches may be in the pipeline.