Categorization of addiction medicine electronic consultation cases by clinical topic
| CATEGORY | CLINICAL TOPIC | DESCRIPTION | NO. OF CASES | PERCENTAGE OF CASES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chronic pain and controlled substances | Chronic pain management | Treatment of noncancer chronic pain | 37 | 28.7 |
| Prescribing controlled substances | PCP-prescribed controlled substances (narcotic, stimulant, benzodiazepine) that are non–opioid agonist treatments | 31 | 24.0 | |
| Opioid tapering–medication management | Medical approach to decreasing prescribed opioid dosage over time | 17 | 13.2 | |
| Harm reduction | Strategies aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use (including safe supply) | 9 | 7.0 | |
| Opioid tapering–patient communication and decision making | Advice for discussing opioid tapering with patients | 2 | 1.6 | |
| Long-term management | Anti-craving | Medical management for chronic relapse prevention (generally for alcohol) | 33 | 25.6 |
| Accessing resources | Community-based or inpatient patient programs to assist in substance use management | 21 | 16.3 | |
| OAT | Medical management of opioid use disorder; use of OATs (ie, buprenorphine, methadone, SROM) | 18 | 14.0 | |
| Abstinence | Advice to achieve patient goal of refraining from problematic substance use | 10 | 7.8 | |
| Short-term management | Withdrawal | Advice on prevention and management of symptoms developed when patient stops or cuts down on a substance for which they have developed physical tolerance | 28 | 21.7 |
| Rehabilitation or detoxification | Management of physical and psychological effects of stopping an addictive substance (inpatient or outpatient) | 15 | 11.6 | |
| Intoxication | Pattern of physical, behavioural, or psychological changes produced by active drug use | 7 | 5.4 | |
| Concurrent disorders | Concurrent psychiatric disorders | Medical history includes psychiatric conditions that are complicating substance use management | 25 | 19.4 |
| Medical complications | Substance use–related medical complications (eg, liver cirrhosis with alcohol use disorder) | 11 | 8.5 | |
| Concurrent medical disorders | Medical history includes conditions that are complicating substance use management | 8 | 6.2 | |
| Other | NA | Unlisted clinical topics including safety (return to work, driving), urine drug screens, and non–substance addiction | 19 | 14.7 |
NA—not applicable, OAT—opioid agonist therapy, PCP—primary care provider, SROM—slow-release oral morphine.