The opioid crisis in canada – Governmental responses and strategies

The opioid crisis in canada – Governmental responses and strategies Norm Buckley, Scientific Director at the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Pain Research & Care, and Jason Busse, Director of the Michael G DeGroote National Pain Centre at McMaster University, discuss the complexities of chronic pain management and addressing the opioid crisis. The National Advisory Council on Prescription Drug Misuse was formed to address the opioid crisis in Canada. Led by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (now known as the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse and Addiction), the Coalition on Prescription Drug Misuse (Alberta), and the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness, in partnership with Health Canada’s First Nations and Inuit Health Branch’s Prescription Drug Abuse Coordinating Committee (PDACC), the Council released First Do No Harm: Responding to Canada’s Prescription Drug Crisis in March 2013. Half of the recommendations addressed issues regarding chronic pain, recognizing the link between opioid prescribing and chronic pain. The Council recommended establishing competencies for healthcare professionals, improving healthcare professional curricula for pain and addiction, ensuring access to optimal care for pain as well as addiction, and supporting research that would optimize evidence-based care of patients.