Opioid Stewardship
Pharmacists across the country are on the front line of dealing with opioid misuse and are often the first health care providers to notice a prescription drug problem in a patient. From assessing new and long-term prescriptions for opioids, ongoing monitoring of effectiveness, optimizing care, identifying patients with risk factors or misuse, and education and recommendations for harm reduction strategies, pharmacists play a key role in promoting rational opioid use, balancing safety with decreased pain and overall quality of life. Our practice resources designed to support you in your role as an opioid steward include:
Webinar Recordings:
- Pharmacists as Opioid Stewards: A showcase of the evidence (October 2020)
- An evidence-based framework for helping patients using opioids for chronic pain (September 10, 2019)
- An interprofessional approach to treating patients with opioid use disorder Part 1 and Part 2 (March 22 & 29 2019)
- How you can be an opioid steward (June 2018)
- Street Fentanyl and Its Analogues -- What Pharmacists Need to Know (2017)
Tools for Practice and Patient Education:
- Opioid Evidence Showcase Key Takeaways
- CDSA Exemptions: How to Accept a Verbal Order
- CDSA Exemptions: How to Transfer a Prescription
- CDSA Exemptions: How to Adapt a Prescription
- CDSA Exemptions: How to Extend a Prescription
- Video: How to Administer Naloxone Nasal Spray (en français)
- Infographic: Administering Naloxone Nasal Spray (en français)
- Product Information: Official Naloxone Nasal Spray Canadian product information (en français)
- Product Monograph: NARCAN® NASAL SPRAY
Video Stories:
Please also visit Opioids & the CDSA for more evidence, resources and advocacy tools supporting an enhanced an harmonized scope of practice for pharmacists to better manage opioid therapy.