Evaluating the implementation of programs to improve emergency department care for people who use opioids in B.C.

Andrew Kestler, MD, MBA, MSCPH, DTMH Scientist, Advancing Health Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, UBC Physician Lead, Emergency Department Opioid Crisis Response, St. Paul’s Hospital Emergency Physician, St. Paul’s, Vancouver General, and BC Children’s Hospitals

Evaluating the implementation of programs to improve emergency department care for people who use opioids in B.C.

In British Columbia, 6 people a day die of opioid overdose. Because people who use opioids seek care in emergency departments (EDs), EDs offer services that can improve survival: EDs provide kits to reverse opioid overdoses; start people on medications for opioid addiction; and link people to community care. Several B.C. health authorities have started programs to improve ED care of people who use opioids. We do not know how often EDs deliver these services and if they reduce death.

This presentation will discuss the development of tools to monitor and evaluate the current implementation of emergency department interventions for opioid use disorder in Vancouver, and the facilitation of similar evaluations across BC and Canada.

This is a hybrid event, you may attend in person or virtually. Please register and indicate your preference.