Top Media Outlets Feature KGI Study That Examines the Furnishing of Naloxone

A recent public health advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General called for increased awareness and use of naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal drug. Most states, including California, have legislation or protocols in place allowing trained pharmacists to provide naloxone to individuals without a prescription.

A new study by faculty at the Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and collaborators with the UC San Francisco’s Department of Family and Community Medicine investigated California pharmacists’ furnishing of naloxone without a prescription two years after legislation was implemented.

The study, released in JAMA, collected data from 1,147 California pharmacies, a sample representing 20 percent of California’s community pharmacies. The investigators found that only 23.5 percent of pharmacies were furnishing naloxone.

Puzantian’s study has been featured in top media outlets, including Reuters, STAT, Huffington Post, and Healthline.