THUNDER BAY -- Former Thunder Bay district medical officer of health Dr. David Williams will lead a new project aimed at responding to opioid overdoses across Ontario more efficiently.
Williams — currently Ontario's chief medical officer of health — on Wednesday was named as the province's first provincial overdose co-ordinator, and will launch a new surveillance and reporting system which a government news release says will "better respond to opioid overdoses in a timely manner and inform how best to direct care."
In 2014, more than 700 people died in Ontario from opioid-related causes, an increase of almost 270 per cent since 2002. The Ministry of Health says opioid misuse is the third leading cause of accidental death in the province.
Ontario's new opioid strategy includes enhanced data collection, modernizing prescribing and dispensing practices, and connecting patients with addiction treatment services. In a prepared statement,
Dr. Williams called addiction to narcotics a serious, complex issue "that requires a comprehensive and holistic approach." He said the ministry is building "on the significant work already underway in order to reduce opioid overdoses and fatalities and transform addiction treatment."
Evidence-based standards for health care providers on appropriate opioid prescribing will be released by 2018 with the goal of preventing over-prescribing of pain killers. Other elements of the strategy include de-listing high-strength formulations of long-acting opioids from the Ontario Drug Benefit Formulary as of Jan.1, 2017, and expanding access to naloxone overdose medication, available free of charge to patients and their families.
