Code 3 Podcast: Is naloxone necessary?

Board certified emergency medicine physician Bryan Bledsoe says EMS providers rarely need to administer naloxone

March 12, 2019 10:46 PM •

By Scott Orr

Naloxone has been pitched as the single best way to deal with opioid overdoses. And while it does work, it’s being overused and misused.

Some EMS providers and law enforcement officers are administering naloxone just-in-case … even if they aren’t sure they’re treating an opioid overdose. But naloxone has a lot of nasty effects on the patient.

In this episode of Code 3 Podcast, host Scott Orr’s guest says EMS providers rarely need to administer naloxone at all.

Bryan Bledsoe, DO, FACEP, FAEMS, is a professor of emergency medicine at the UNLV School of Medicine. He routinely works the emergency department at the University Medical Center in Las Vegas. He’s board certified in emergency medicine and EMS.

Code 3 Podcast with Scott Orr

Code 3 is hosted by award-winning journalist Scott Orr, who has covered the fire/EMS/police beat for most of his 30-plus year career in news. He’s worked around the country in both TV and print. Orr was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease over a decade ago, but that doesn’t stop him from interviewing fire service leaders on issues that concern firefighters around the nation.