The Grey Bruce Health Unit will host a rapid access addiction treatment clinic as it begins a new integrated approach to addiction services in the region.
The clinic will open this fall, with a plan to see patients withing seven days of a discharge from an Emergency Department.
The clinic physician will provide ongoing support including counselling, withdrawal medication and connecting patients with community support programs.
The health unit will play a role in a more comprehensive patient first approach that includes emergency departments, long term care, and Primary Care-Hospital Integration.
In the past, many clients were simply treated and released from hospital, and continuing treatment programs were provided in a fragmented fashion, which put patients at risk of returning to their addiction.
The program is called META:PHI -- Mentoring, Education, and clinical Tools for Addiction: Primary Care Hospital Integration.
The pilot in Grey Bruce is an excellent example of leveraging existing partnerships between acute care, primary care, public health and community resources.
Addictions are a leading cause of death, hospital visits, and health care spending in Ontario. Every year over 150 people enter emergency departments at the Grey Bruce health Services with alcohol or drug addictions.
Untreated, an opiate addict costs the health care system about $50,000 a year. Opioid replacement therapy costs about $5,000 a year.