By The Canadian Press

Physician watchdog makes it easier for B.C. doctors to prescribe addiction drug

Jul 6, 2016 | 12:44 PM

VANCOUVER — The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia is relaxing its regulations covering access to a drug that can help treat heroin addiction.

On its website, the college says physicians no longer need a special exemption to prescribe Suboxone or its generic versions.

Paperwork linked to prescribing the drug is also being scaled back, with the college announcing it will no longer keep a central registry of patients in the methadone program.

It means doctors won’t have to submit patient registration, transfer, and cessation forms when prescribing Suboxone, but must still check a patient’s previous drug history before starting opioid treatment.

The changes, made in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, took effect July 1.

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Suboxone has been covered under B.C.’s PharmaCare program since October 2015 and the Canadian Research Initiative on Substance Misuse says it is a promising opiate replacement therapy that has been proven to decrease overdose deaths.