Ontario’s opioid strategy

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Ontario is changing the way it deals with opioids, in the face of an influx of addictions and overdoses. There will be more funding for pain clinics, more access to drugs that treat addiction and overdose and more rules for both doctors and patients. The Health Minister, Eric Hoskins says many people who have had no history of drug abuse have become opioid addicts after getting a prescription to deal with chronic pain.

In 2014, more than 700 people died from opioids, that’s a 266% increase from 2002. “It’s the third leading cause of accidental death. More than car accidents.”

Dr. Ramesh Zacharias oversees the Michael DeGroote pain centre at McMaster hospital, he started getting funding 14 months ago to do the type of therapy the Health Minister wants to see across the province.

“The solution is that of having physiotherapist, the psychologist, the occ therapist, nurse practitioner. If you have better pain care, you have better options than just prescribing.”

The province will invest $17 million a year, Zacharias says it works. “One patient recently finished the program and when he came back for six week review, he said everyone around him said the old Glenn was back, they hadn’t seen in 20 years. He’s much more active. He’ll tell you his pain hasn’t completely gone but he’s functioning better.”

The provincial funding means DeGroote will see 14 000 patients this year, double the number from last year and wait times have gone down from three years to six weeks. The Health Minister says a drug similar to but safer than methadone will be easier to prescribe and it will be easier to get free access to an antidote drug that can stop an overdose in progress.

Another safety measure that went into effect October 1st is if you’re prescribed a patch for fentanyl, you will now have to return your old patch before you can get a new one so pharmacists can watch for signs of abuse, and make sure only the person with the prescription is getting the drug.