TY - JOUR T1 - First-line medications for alcohol use disorders among public drug plan beneficiaries in Ontario JF - Canadian Family Physician JO - Can Fam Physician SP - e277 LP - e283 VL - 63 IS - 5 AU - Sheryl Spithoff AU - Suzanne Turner AU - Tara Gomes AU - Diana Martins AU - Samantha Singh Y1 - 2017/05/01 UR - http://www.cfp.ca/content/63/5/e277.abstract N2 - Objective To examine use of first-line alcohol use disorder (AUD) medications (naltrexone and acamprosate) among public drug plan beneficiaries in the year following an AUD diagnosis.Design Retrospective population-based cohort study.Setting Ontario.Participants Individuals eligible for public drug plan benefits who had an AUD diagnosis at a hospital visit between April 1, 2011, and March 31, 2012.Main outcome measures Number of AUD medications dispensed to public drug plan beneficiaries who had a recent hospital visit with an AUD diagnosis, and number of prescriptions dispensed per person.Results A total of 10 394 Ontarians between 18 and 65 years of age were identified who had a hospital visit with an AUD diagnosis and were eligible for public drug plan benefits. The rate of AUD medications dispensed in the subsequent year was 3.56 per 1000 population (95% CI 2.51 to 4.91; n = 37). This rate did not differ significantly by sex (P = .83).Conclusion Very few public drug plan beneficiaries are dispensed first-line AUD medications in the year following an AUD diagnosis. ER -