Methadone maintenance: BC leads the way
Online posting: Sept. 25, 1997
Published in print: November 1, 1997 (CMAJ 1997;157:1198)
Re: Mainstreaming methadone maintenance treatment: the role
of the family physician, by Mark Latowsky and Evelyn Kallen,
CMAJ 1997;157(4):395-8 [full text / résumé]
I agree with the authors' opinion that family physicians can play
a vital role as methadone prescribers and can therefore help to
integrate methadone maintenance into mainstream medicine.
Although they cite several offshore examples of this practice,
they need look no further than British Columbia to find evidence
of this phenomenon. BC has approximately 270 physicians who
prescribe methadone and thus provide maintenance treatment to
about 2800 patients. Most of these methadone prescribers are
family physicians working in a community practice setting.
British Columbia, under the leadership of the provincial college
of physicians and surgeons, leads the country in this innovation.
The progress to date deserves recognition and merits replication
by the rest of Canada.
John F. Anderson, MD
Medical Advisor
Clinical Support Unit
BC Ministry of Health
Victoria, BC
jfanders@bcsc02.gov.bc.ca
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