Filling the substance use treatment gap requires better education and research training
While education is unlikely the ultimate filling for the substance use treatment gap, it is one that can be hardly overlooked and underestimated.
Many medical programs likely do little in the way of introducing students to the scientific evidence underlying addictions treatment, and emerging physicians have difficulty implementing best evidence.
This is a serious concern in light of the urgent need for improved addictions care, and highlights even further the necessity of expanding interdisciplinary education in evidence-based addictions treatment.
Can online training uplift opioid sparing strategies?
Opioid analgesic prescribing has been in trouble for decades in North America. Things are changing, though. Still, there’s room to adjust care, especially new starts.
Exploring barriers and facilitators to health equity
[April 27] The ongoing opioid crisis continues to inflict serious harms on thousands of British Columbians. Some harms are due to initiation of opioid analgesics in primary care which contributes to the development of prescription opioid addiction and opioid use disorder (OUD) in up to a quarter of all individuals started on opioid analgesics. (more…)
Newly started primary care opioid prescriptions plateaued in 2018-2019
Our new study published in the Canadian Journal of Addiction found plateauing rates of new starts of opioid analgesics in British Columbia in 2018-2019. We wanted to find out how many and what kind of opioid prescriptions were started to opioid naïve patients by family physicians in British Columbia. (more…)
Can intentional substance use reduce illicit opioid use?
Have you ever intentionally used an alternate substance to control or reduce your use of illicit (non-prescribed) opioids?
Self-managed use is one way to reduce the psychological, social and physical harms related to substance use. While chronic addiction interferes with self-control, even people living with the most severe addictions can self-manage their use.