Addiction medicine and substance abuse care

Unfortunately, the need for addiction medicine and substance abuse care is still a considerable part of the Canadian health care system. A recent study estimated the prevalence of substance abuse among the Canadian population to be 11%.¹ According to data from the 2010 National Physician Survey (NPS), 30% of Canadian FPs and GPs offer substance abuse care, with 3% identifying it as the area of focus for their practices. Addictions are also a considerable problem for the Canadian population. Sixty-nine percent of FPs and GPs report seeing patients with addictions, and 4% of physicians report that patients with addictions represent 10% or more of their patient populations. Among the family medicine residents who responded to the 2010 NPS, 48% indicated that they intended to provide care for patients with substance abuse problems.

Table 1 shows the distribution of FPs who indicated that they provided care for patients with addictions. It is evident that addictions know few boundaries and are prevalent across all kinds of practice populations, especially in rural and remote areas. Among the provinces (Table 2), the highest proportions of FPs caring for patients with addictions are reported in Saskatchewan (78%) and British Columbia (77%), while Quebec (54%) and Newfoundland (65%) have the lowest proportions.

The important role that FPs play in substance abuse care should be recognized and further studied to ensure proper training and information are in place for physicians to provide the necessary care to the Canadian public.

The NPS is a collaborative project of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, the Canadian Medical Association, and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Additional results are available at www.nationalphysiciansurvey.ca. If you would like the opportunity to develop and write a future Fast Fact using the NPS results, please contact Artem Safarov, National Physician Survey Project Manager, at 800 387-6197, extension 242, or artem{at}cfpc.ca.

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