Landmark study finds prescribing opioids dramatically reduced deaths, overdoses for drug users in B.C. – CBC

Researchers found risk of overdose death reduced significantly the longer users had access to prescribed drugs

Jan 11, 2024

A study conducted by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control has found that prescribing medical-grade opioids dramatically reduced the rates of deaths and overdoses for drug users living in B.C.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, is described as “the first known instance of a North American province or state providing clinical guidance to physicians and nurse practitioners for prescribing pharmaceutical alternatives to patients at risk of death from the toxic drug supply.”

Researchers looked at anonymized health-care data of 5,882 people between March 2020 and August 2021, all of whom had opioid or stimulant use disorder.

Those individuals filled a prescription under the B.C. Risk Mitigation Guide — clinical guidance developed in March 2020 to allow for physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to reduce deaths through harm reduction.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/overdose-death-study-1.7080848