How prescribing available pharmacotherapies for alcohol use disorder can impact the healthcare system: A retrospective quality improvement study.

Alcohol use disorder is a multifactorial undertreated chronic disorder influenced by genetic, psychological, and environmental factors. Numerous pharmacotherapies are available and effective but are underutilized in healthcare. The purpose of this retrospective quality improvement study is to determine the impact of education sessions on the availability and efficacy of medications (focusing on Naltrexone) to treat alcohol use disorder in the healthcare system.

Technology to support relational care for people who use drugs at home: Literature review and key informant content.

Canada's opioid crisis is a public health emergency that disproportionately affects people who use drugs alone at home, requiring the mobilization of health systems to implement timely, effective, and innovative programs. The purpose of this review is to provide a synthesis of recent literature relating to technology-enabled harm reduction strategies. The results of the literature review are corroborated with key informants, including family members of people who use drugs and policy-makers in the area of opioid use.

Education to improve the triage of mental health patients in general hospital emergency departments.

General hospital emergency departments (EDs) are obvious places for individuals in distress or in a mental health crisis to seek assistance. However, triage nurses admit to a lack of expertise and confidence in psychiatric assessment which can result in less accurate assessments than for medical or trauma presentations. The objectives of a collaborative project between an Adult Mental Health Program and an Adult Emergency Program in a Canadian regional health authority were to: provide education and training to triage nurses regarding mental health and illness; monitor the transit of mental health patients through the ED; monitor wait times; and determine the adequacy of the Canadian Triage Acuity and Assessment Scale in the triage of psychiatric presentations.