This resource map provides highlights of addiction-based topics and guidelines as they apply to Canadian practice and identifies resources and supports available when caring for patients with substance use concerns. These resources are intended for physicians to guide them through screening, diagnosing, treating, and communicating with patients who have or are at risk of developing substance use disorders.
The Medical Council of Canada (MCC) Examination Objectives describe the attributes expected of medical graduates entering residency in Canada. This resource map is associated with the following Objectives:
Providing anti-oppressive health care
Substance use or addictive disorders
This list of objectives reflects the main themes in this resource map and is not exhaustive.
Some of the resources listed below are specific to particular provinces or regions and are not always generalizable to all of Canada. We encourage you to seek out specific resources for your own needs.
Opioid Agonist Therapy: A Synthesis of Canadian Guidelines for Treating Opioid Use Disorder
CAMH worked with subject matter experts and medical regulatory authorities across Canada to reach a consensus on recommendations from existing guidelines. The aim of this unified guideline is to standardize expectations for Canadian prescribers, but not to replace any adopted guidelines.
Read the guideline (approx. 65 min)
Opioid Use Disorder (OUD)
This tool aims to guide primary care providers through the identification and management of individuals who have problems with opioid use. It includes a step-by-step approach for initiating and maintaining opioid agonist treatment with buprenorphine-naloxone.
Read about the tool (approx. 18 min)
Decolonizing Substance Use & Addiction
This talk explores the origins of addiction and substance use through an Indigenous lens. To shed some light on today’s overdose crisis in British Columbia, Len Pierre takes us through the missing historical and cultural context surrounding Indigenous Peoples and discusses ongoing challenges that limit progress. Understanding how all of these pieces fit together is a critical step to decolonizing and creating lasting solutions to this community-wide challenge.
Watch the video (16:59 min)
Other resources you may want to explore:
Addiction Care and Treatment Online Course, The University of British Columbia Continuing Professional Development course
AFMC Response to the Opioid Crisis, Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) Educational Resource
In Canada, low awareness of evidence-based interventions for the clinical management of alcohol use disorder exists among health care providers and people who could benefit from care. To address this gap, the Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse convened a national committee to develop a guideline for the clinical management of high-risk drinking and alcohol use disorder. The guideline includes 15 recommendations that cover screening, diagnosis, withdrawal management and ongoing treatment, including psychosocial treatment interventions, pharmacotherapies and community-based programs.
This video discusses a new approach to medical treatment options for alcohol use disorder which can complement a person’s existing support network including cultural, traditional and community-led healing.
This Government of Canada website covers multiple topics on the medical use of cannabis, including prescribing cannabis to patients, cannabis health effects and risks, and regulations.
The main objective of Canada’s Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines (LRCUG) is to provide science-based recommendations to enable people to reduce their health risks associated with cannabis use, similar to the intent of health-oriented guidelines for low-risk drinking, nutrition or sexual behaviour.
