Dialogue Volume 12 Issue 4 2016 | Page 31

Ontario Drug Policy Research Network

Dramatic variation of opioid use , deaths across province

The use of opioids varies significantly across Ontario , with northern counties demonstrating the highest rates of opioid use and opioid-related deaths , The analysis also found that the number of opioid-related overdose deaths continues to climb . There were 638 opioid-related deaths in Ontario in 2013 , approximately one death for every 20,000 Ontarians . Nearly 13 per cent of those deaths involved suicide . In 2012 , there were 595 opioid-related deaths .

When looking specifically at Ontario ’ s 49 counties , Thunder Bay District and Timiskaming District had the highest rates of opioid-related death in Ontario , approximately four-fold higher than the provincial average . Algoma District displayed the highest rates of opioid-related Emergency Department ( ED ) visits ( 6.2 visits per 10,000 residents ), third-highest rate of opioid-related hospital admissions ( 3.1 admissions per 10,000 residents ) and among the highest rates of prescription opioid use and opioid-related deaths . “ The information can be used to identify regions with the highest need for programs and services to address opioid addiction and overdose such as addiction services , safe injection sites and access to naloxone ,” says Dr . Tara Gomes , lead author , a principal investigator of the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network ( ODPRN ) and a scientist at both the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences ( ICES ), and in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St . Michael ’ s Hospital . The researchers also found there were 3,200 opioid-related ED visits in Ontario in 2014 , with about half of those patients being admitted into hospital . “ Prescribed with care , opioids can help some people , but it ’ s essential that patients and doctors recognize the potential harms associated with use of these drugs ,” says one of the report ’ s co-authors Dr . David Juurlink , a senior scientist at the ICES and head of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre . The researchers noted that the report is specific to opioid use by Ontario Drug Benefit recipients . Patients can also access opioids through private insurance , cash payments or the federal public drug program . MD
Opioid use and adverse events in Ontario
Opioid Users in 2015

669,674

Opioid Maintenance Therapy Users in 2015

33,693

Opioid-Related Emergency Department Visits in 2014

3,241

Opioid-Related Deaths in 2013

638

Issue 4 , 2016 Dialogue 31