Interior Health’s virtual addiction medicine service can now be self-referred.
The three year old program allows people living with alcohol or opioid use disorder have direct and quick access to addiction medicine specialists.
Director of Clinical Operations for Mental Health and Substance Use, Karen Omelchuk says the process is more streamlined through their website.
“They can complete a self-referral form, and that’s submitted to our clinicians who contact the individual that day or ideally within the next business day.” says Omelchuk.
“They do an assessment triage and then connect that person to an addictions medicine physician.”
Omelchuk says the connection happens virtually by phone or through the video chat app, Zoom.
Prior to the self-referral addition, individuals needed to get one either from their family practitioner, a mental health and substance use clinician, or from some type of a health professional to access the service.
She says an expansion like this is fantastic for access, and is even more important for rural communities to get the care needed.
More information about the virtual addiction medicine service can be found on Interior Health’s website here.
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