Top left, Ms. Diane Doherty, chair of the College’ s Methadone Committee, addressed more than 300 physicians who attended the College-organized methadone conference. Bottom left, Dr. Michael Kaufmann of the OMA’ s Physician Health Program gave the keynote address. photo: alYSSA wodabek
Conference held for methadone prescribers
More than 300 physicians who prescribe methadone attended a College-organized conference recently to discuss best practices and meet fellow prescribers. The event, coordinated in partnership with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, hosted speakers who addressed different facets of opioid prescribing such as addiction and aging, opioid use disorder in the youth population; and flexibility and refusal skills.
Ms. Diane Doherty, chair of the College’ s Methadone Committee and a public member of Council, told the physicians that the number of patients receiving methadone maintenance treatment( MMT) continues to climb. As of October 2016, more than 42,000 Ontarians were dispensed MMT with approximately 490 physicians providing MMT in 244 clinics across Ontario.
Ms. Doherty touched upon the some of the“ problem” issues identified by the Committee and recognized the need for more education and support to help physicians in adhering to the methadone standards and College policy. The issues she highlighted included:
• Dosing Issues: specifically the importance of documenting the reasons for dose adjustments and that patients frequently are not seen enough after dose increases.
• Approving accelerated take home doses with no documentation regarding the rationale.
• Clinical notes lacking sufficient detail to adequately tell the‘ patient’ s story’ and ensuring prescribers document all rationale for dosing and carries.
• Transcription errors and lack of unique notes.
“ These issues continue to be identified by the Committee – in this respect, we encourage prescribers to review the Guidelines on a regular basis and reach out to more experienced colleagues if you have questions about managing challenging situations,” said Ms. Doherty. The keynote speaker was Dr. Michael Kaufmann, of the Ontario Medical Association’ s Physician Health Program. He spoke about why it was important for physicians to incorporate civility into their daily lives. The physicians were welcomed to the meeting with comments from the Registrar, Dr. Rocco Gerace, who thanked the methadone prescribers for their important work in caring for a vulnerable patient population. MD
Issue 4, 2016 Dialogue 33