Our 2009 policy paper, Stepping Forward: Improving Addiction Care in British Columbia, outlined Doctors of BC’s position on substance use care. While many of the calls to action in that paper still apply, the substance use landscape has shifted dramatically since 2009. Widespread access to quality care remains limited, and health outcomes for harmful substance use continue to deteriorate.
Doctors of BC acknowledges the severe impact of the drug toxicity crisis and calls for a multi-pronged, coordinated approach to address the ongoing public health emergency in BC. To address this issue, Doctors of BC recommends enhancing coordination and improving access to community-based, culturally appropriate, and evidence-informed substance use prevention, harm reduction, and treatment programs and services.
August is Drug Free Kids (DFK) Canada’s ‘Drug Drop Off Month’, and in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, parents are being asked to ensure that medications are stored securely in the home, and expired medications are safely returned to pharmacies.
Jian Weng, a UBC medical student and Doctors of BC bursary recipient who graduated in 2020, is one of many students who are exploring and enhancing their future medical careers during the pandemic.
We are hearing a great deal about the growing challenge of opioid use and addiction in BC. It’s also a growing problem for new moms and their babies, as physicians in Fraser Northwest discovered.
