photo : D . W . Dorken |
Rocco Gerace , MD Registrar
The data will provide clinicians with the most comprehensive , upto-date picture of the narcotics dispensed to their patients .
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Canada has the world ’ s second-highest per capita consumption of prescription opioids . In some parts of the country , drug overdoses are killing more people than motor vehicle accidents . But there is reason to believe that the tide may be turning . Just last month , doctors in Guelph , as part of a pilot project , gained access to data from the Ontario government ’ s Narcotics Monitoring System . The data will provide clinicians with the most comprehensive , up-to-date picture of the narcotics dispensed to their patients . In fact , Dr . Eric Hoskins , Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care , has pledged to make the NMS data available to all Ontario prescribers . This critical access is something that we have been asking for since the release of our 2010 report Tackling the Opioid Public Health Crisis . When prescribers have the prescription information available to them for all patients , it will help them decide whether prescribing opioids is indeed the most appropriate |
intervention for a particular patient . And in many cases , it will be the right decision , but it will also alert the prescriber to patients who may be double-doctoring , using multiple pharmacies or diverting opioids .
Dr . Hoskins made his announcement at the Opioid Conference and Summit , convened for the express purpose of identifying a path to take us out of the opioid crisis . Co-hosted by Dr . Jane Philpott , federal Minister of Health , and Dr . Hoskins , the summit brought together policy makers and key stakeholders , such as this College , to draw up a joint action plan . By the conclusion of the two-day summit , each of the 42 different groups in attendance – provincial ministries of health , medical organizations , educational bodies , and regulators – had stepped up to publicly state what exactly they were going to do to make a difference within their particular area of responsibility . Opioid abuse is a complex problem that requires a concerted , coordinated approach among multiple
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Issue 4 , 2016 Dialogue 7 |