Ontario is currently coping with a health crisis related to opioids, specifically fentanyl, a drug that is reported to be 50 to 80 times stronger than morphine. There has been a steady increase in the number of drug induced deaths in the province, with opioids being the leading cause of accidental deaths. As a result, the Ontario government announced a strategy to address these concerns on Oct. 12.
The strategy addresses three main components: modernizing opioid prescribing and monitoring, improving the treatment of pain, and enhancing addiction supports and harm reduction.
The highlights of this strategy include:
- Designating a provincial overdose coordinator, Dr. David Williams, to launch a surveillance and reporting system to better respond to overdose deaths and inform how to best direct care. In addition, the coordinator will work with hospitals to ensure the monitoring and reporting of opioid-related overdoses is up-to-date.
- Developing standards for appropriate opioid prescribing, to be led by Health Quality Ontario and health sector partners, and working with experts to develop a harm-reduction framework.
- Delisting high strength, long-lasting opioids from the Ontario Drug Benefit Formulary, starting Jan. 1, 2017.
- Investing $17 million into Ontario’s Chronic Pain Network to assist patients managing pain and expand training to primary care providers to enable them to safely and effectively treat chronic pain.
- Expanding access to Naloxone (an opioid antagonist that prevents overdose in emergency situations), includingthe distribution of Naloxone for at-risk individuals in the justice system and intranasal Naloxone.
- Increasing access to Suboxone (an opioid agonist similar to methadone) and improving integration of care for those using this medication.
- Working with Indigenous mental health and addictions initiatives.
- Expanding the Fentanyl Patch Program, requiring patients to return used patches to the pharmacy before more can be dispensed.
The government is unsure of the scope of the problem, as data is not up to date on accurate information related to drug induced deaths.
While Fentanyl is a highly regulated synthetic opioid used for medical procedures, illegally manufactured fentanyl is being unevenly distributed in substances sold on the street. The fentanyl that is being found in illicit substances can be lethal in very small amounts, contributing to the crisis in deaths related to overdose. In 2014, there was a significant increase in the numbers of Opioid deaths in Ontario, with nearly 700 overdoses.
Currently, the government is unsure of the scope of the problem, as data is not up to date on accurate information related to drug induced deaths. Data for 2015 and 2016 are currently unavailable, making it challenging to respond efficiently, however it is estimated that there is currently an overdose death in Ontario every 14 hours and has significantly surpassed the 2014 numbers.
A national crisis on the summit will be held Nov. 18 and 19 in Ottawa.