WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration Thursday approved an overdose antidote that doctors could prescribe for family members or caregivers to keep on hand to treat someone they suspect has overdosed on heroin or powerful painkillers called opioids.

Named Evzio, the device automatically injects a dose of the drug naloxone, a long-used antidote for opioid overdoses. Naloxone is usually administered by syringe in ambulances or emergency rooms. But with the rise in drug overdose deaths, there has been a growing push to equip more people with the protection.

Once Evzio is turned on, it provides verbal instructions.

The antidote is not a substitute for immediate medical care, the FDA said; anyone who has overdosed will need additional treatment.

FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said in a statement that 16,000 people die every year due to opioid-related overdoses. She said the increase in overdose deaths has largely been driven by prescription drug overdoses.

“While the larger goal is to reduce the need for products like these by preventing opioid addiction and abuse, they are extremely important innovations that will help to save lives,” Hamburg said.

By The Associated Press