B.C. centre on substance use releases guidelines for treatment of opioid abuse
VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s fledgling network for research into drug abuse has released new provincial guidelines for doctors and nurses on treating people addicted to opioids.
The move marks a shift away from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. as the body responsible for developing provincewide treatment protocols related to the overdose crisis, which claimed more than 900 lives in the province last year.
College spokeswoman Susan Prins said the transition is expected to free up resources and allow the regulator to conduct “enhanced monitoring” of all prescriptions that pose a risk to patient safety, not just methadone.
“The college has run a methadone-maintenance program for several years now, which has included authorizing exemptions to physicians who wish to prescribe methadone for opioid-use disorder … running educational programs and developing guidelines, which isn’t a typical role for the regulator,” Prins said in an email on Tuesday.