18
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Volume1 Issue1
CDA
at
W
ork
OnJanuary24,2014,
MinisterofHealth
RonaAmbroseand
theCanadianCentre
onSubstanceAbuse
(CCSA)co-hosted
asymposiumtohelp
identifymeasures
tofightthegrowing
problemofprescription
drugabuse inCanada.
Dr.BenoitSoucy,
CDAdirectorof
clinicalandscientific
affairs, attendedthe
symposiumalongwith
otherrepresentatives
fromthehealthcare
sector,government,
FirstNationsand law
enforcement.
CDAaskedDr.Soucy
formoredetailsabout
theevent.
Does Dentistry Contribute to
PrescriptionDrugAbuse?
CDA:
Canyouexplain thebackgroundand
context for thesymposium?
Dr.BenoitSoucy:
About ayear ago,
the federal governmentpresenteda report
titled
FirstDoNoHarm:Responding toCanada’s
PrescriptionDrugCrisis
toexplore the issues
surrounding theuseofprescriptiondrugs in
Canada.
Despite the frighteningmagnitudeof
prescriptiondrugconsumption inCanada—
wehave theworld’ssecond-highest levelof
prescriptionopioiduse—there isageneral
lackofpublicawarenesson thematter.
MinisterAmbroseandallprovincialhealth
ministersagreeprescriptiondrugabuse isa
major issue inCanada.
Whoattendedthesymposium?
Health-relatedorganizations like theCanadian
MedicalAssociationandCanadianPharmacists
Association,governmentagencieswith
expertise in theareaaswell asnot-for-
profitgroupspromoting thefightagainst
prescriptiondrugabuse.Aside fromCDA,
twootherdentalorganizationsattended
theevent: theCanadianDentalRegulatory
AuthoritiesFederation (CDRAF)andAssociation
ofCanadianFacultiesofDentistry (ACFD).
Whatwerethemainpointsdiscussedthatday
andhowdotheyrelatetodentistry?
Thedaywasorganizedaround four round
tables, twoofwhich related todentistry.
Thefirst round table focusedonprevention.
BothCDAandACFD tookpart in that
discussion,which revolvedaroundways
to limit the supplyofprescriptiondrugs, to
ultimatelyavoid inappropriateuse. Froma
dentistry standpoint, theobviousobservation
is thatwedoprescribepainkillers toour
patients. And since it canbedifficult to
predictneeds,we tend toprescribemore
for eachevent than thepatientultimately
uses.Here liespartof theproblem:
medication thathasbeendispensed to
patients, butnotusedbypatients, becomes
unaccounted for.
Another round tableof interest todentists
focusedoneducation.Weobviouslyhada lot
to saywith regard toeducationat the school
level andasacomponentof continuing
education. All parties involvedagreed that
educationneeds tobeprovided inanon-
threateningenvironment. Practitionersmust
feel comfortable registering tocourses,
andknow that theirparticipationwill not
negativelyaffect their licensure.
Theother two round tablescovered the
topicsof treatment andenforcement.
Is thereaperception that thedental
professionneeds tobedoingmore toaddress
the issue?
The roledentistrymustplayhasbeenclearly
identified in theFirstDoNoHarm report.
There isnodoubt thatwecontribute to the
issue, and that iswhywehave tobepartof
the solution.
Whatconcreteactionscantheprofessiontake?
Weneed tomake sureweprovidedentists
withcontinuingeducationopportunities
on theappropriatedispensationanduseof
prescriptiondrugs.Wealsoneed towork
closelywithother important stakeholders to
address the issue.
Anyadvice for the individualdentist?
Without adoubt, themostobvious
actiondentistscan take is tochange their
prescriptionpractices. They shouldalso take
the time todiscusspainmanagementwith
theirpatients.Dentistsneed toeducate their
patients.
Weprobablyall havehadpatients showing
up for anemergencyappointment,
complainingabout excruciatingpain.Wecan
often identify thoseasking forprescription
drugs to satisfy their addictionmore
than tomanagepain.Dealingwith those
patients is somethingwemustdo inavery
compassionate fashion.
a
This interviewhasbeencondensedandedited.
