Expanding access to addictions care: Implementation of a 24-hour healthcare provider support line in British Columbia, Canada
Abstract Background Morbidity and mortality related to substance use have risen to catastrophic levels in North America, and treatment services are often difficult to access. In response, the province of British Columbia (BC), Canada, launched a province-wide addiction medicine support phone line th...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2024-10-01
|
| Series: | Addiction Science & Clinical Practice |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13722-024-00508-z |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850179533074857984 |
|---|---|
| author | Anjali Sergeant Amanda Giesler Nirupa Goel Paxton Bach |
| author_facet | Anjali Sergeant Amanda Giesler Nirupa Goel Paxton Bach |
| author_sort | Anjali Sergeant |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Morbidity and mortality related to substance use have risen to catastrophic levels in North America, and treatment services are often difficult to access. In response, the province of British Columbia (BC), Canada, launched a province-wide addiction medicine support phone line that offers clinicians immediate access to phone consultation with an addictions medicine expert. The service operates 24/7 is accessible to any clinician in the province seeking assistance with an addiction-related question. We describe an evaluation of the reach and perceived impact of the service over its first two years. Methods The 24/7 Addiction Medicine Clinician Support Line was evaluated prospectively from June 2020 to April 2022. All provider-to-provider encounters were included. Data was collected from two primary sources: health provider demographic information collected at the time of consultation, and optional clinician surveys conducted after the consultation was complete. Descriptive data are presented as numerical values and percentages. Results Over the 22-month evaluation period, 1,279 consultations were requested by 631 distinct care providers across British Columbia. The service averaged 15 calls per week across the province, and 51.5% of calls were made outside of business hours. Physicians made the majority of calls to the service (n = 865, 67.6%), followed by nurse practitioners (n = 162, 12.7%). Among those who completed a follow-up survey (n = 258 calls, 20.2% total calls), 81.8% (n = 211) were “very” or “extremely” satisfied with the consultation. Of these respondents, 65.5% (n = 169) reported that the consultation led to the provision of better care for their patient, with 58.1% (n = 150) initiating a new prescription and 22.1% (n = 57) reporting expedited treatment for their patient. The consultation area of focus was most commonly opioid use (n = 417; 59.6%), followed by polysubstance use (n = 98; 14.0%). Conclusions The impact of the 24/7 Addiction Clinician Support Line was widespread, and the service increased accessibility to evidence-based addictions treatment across a range of care settings. Clinicians expressed a high degree of satisfaction with the service. To our knowledge, this province-wide program is the first of its kind in North America, offering a scalable and adaptable model to support access to evidence-based addictions care in under-resourced settings. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2ccf3d8458f040459c19ad29d8e67b91 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1940-0640 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Addiction Science & Clinical Practice |
| spelling | doaj-art-2ccf3d8458f040459c19ad29d8e67b912025-08-20T02:18:28ZengBMCAddiction Science & Clinical Practice1940-06402024-10-011911810.1186/s13722-024-00508-zExpanding access to addictions care: Implementation of a 24-hour healthcare provider support line in British Columbia, CanadaAnjali Sergeant0Amanda Giesler1Nirupa Goel2Paxton Bach3Department of Medicine, University of British ColumbiaBritish Columbia Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU)British Columbia Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU)Department of Medicine, University of British ColumbiaAbstract Background Morbidity and mortality related to substance use have risen to catastrophic levels in North America, and treatment services are often difficult to access. In response, the province of British Columbia (BC), Canada, launched a province-wide addiction medicine support phone line that offers clinicians immediate access to phone consultation with an addictions medicine expert. The service operates 24/7 is accessible to any clinician in the province seeking assistance with an addiction-related question. We describe an evaluation of the reach and perceived impact of the service over its first two years. Methods The 24/7 Addiction Medicine Clinician Support Line was evaluated prospectively from June 2020 to April 2022. All provider-to-provider encounters were included. Data was collected from two primary sources: health provider demographic information collected at the time of consultation, and optional clinician surveys conducted after the consultation was complete. Descriptive data are presented as numerical values and percentages. Results Over the 22-month evaluation period, 1,279 consultations were requested by 631 distinct care providers across British Columbia. The service averaged 15 calls per week across the province, and 51.5% of calls were made outside of business hours. Physicians made the majority of calls to the service (n = 865, 67.6%), followed by nurse practitioners (n = 162, 12.7%). Among those who completed a follow-up survey (n = 258 calls, 20.2% total calls), 81.8% (n = 211) were “very” or “extremely” satisfied with the consultation. Of these respondents, 65.5% (n = 169) reported that the consultation led to the provision of better care for their patient, with 58.1% (n = 150) initiating a new prescription and 22.1% (n = 57) reporting expedited treatment for their patient. The consultation area of focus was most commonly opioid use (n = 417; 59.6%), followed by polysubstance use (n = 98; 14.0%). Conclusions The impact of the 24/7 Addiction Clinician Support Line was widespread, and the service increased accessibility to evidence-based addictions treatment across a range of care settings. Clinicians expressed a high degree of satisfaction with the service. To our knowledge, this province-wide program is the first of its kind in North America, offering a scalable and adaptable model to support access to evidence-based addictions care in under-resourced settings.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13722-024-00508-z |
| spellingShingle | Anjali Sergeant Amanda Giesler Nirupa Goel Paxton Bach Expanding access to addictions care: Implementation of a 24-hour healthcare provider support line in British Columbia, Canada Addiction Science & Clinical Practice |
| title | Expanding access to addictions care: Implementation of a 24-hour healthcare provider support line in British Columbia, Canada |
| title_full | Expanding access to addictions care: Implementation of a 24-hour healthcare provider support line in British Columbia, Canada |
| title_fullStr | Expanding access to addictions care: Implementation of a 24-hour healthcare provider support line in British Columbia, Canada |
| title_full_unstemmed | Expanding access to addictions care: Implementation of a 24-hour healthcare provider support line in British Columbia, Canada |
| title_short | Expanding access to addictions care: Implementation of a 24-hour healthcare provider support line in British Columbia, Canada |
| title_sort | expanding access to addictions care implementation of a 24 hour healthcare provider support line in british columbia canada |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13722-024-00508-z |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT anjalisergeant expandingaccesstoaddictionscareimplementationofa24hourhealthcareprovidersupportlineinbritishcolumbiacanada AT amandagiesler expandingaccesstoaddictionscareimplementationofa24hourhealthcareprovidersupportlineinbritishcolumbiacanada AT nirupagoel expandingaccesstoaddictionscareimplementationofa24hourhealthcareprovidersupportlineinbritishcolumbiacanada AT paxtonbach expandingaccesstoaddictionscareimplementationofa24hourhealthcareprovidersupportlineinbritishcolumbiacanada |