March 2025 – July 2025

APPLAUD Action Series

A provincial initiative to improve quality of primary care for people living with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD).

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a common but significantly undertreated condition in Canada, with a gap between what is known to work and what is currently done in primary care practice.

By joining APPLAUD, primary care teams gain access to practical tools, evidence-informed resources and a community of peers and experts to improve AUD care and patient outcomes for individuals and families.

Apply by February 21, 2025

Register Now Learn More
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Did You Know?

About a fifth of Canadians have had AUD in their lifetime, yet it is a significantly under-treated condition in communities across Canada.*

Less than 5% of eligible patients actually receive evidence-informed AUD pharmacotherapies.*

Recently released national clinical guidelines for high-risk drinking and AUD outline under-utilized approaches to AUD care proven to be more effective than traditional methods of treatment.*

APPLAUD Action Series Overview

Approaches and Pharmacotherapies for Patients Living with Alcohol Use Disorder (APPLAUD) is a five-month interactive action series focused on sharing knowledge, tools and tangible steps you can take that improve the quality of primary care for patients living with AUD in BC.

Focus Areas

Participating primary care providers and their teams will focus on:

  • AUD Screening
  • Pharmacotherapies and Prescribing
  • Patient Engagement and Education
  • Referrals to Community Supports

Expectations of Participation

To fully engage in the program, participants are expected to:

  • Work with their primary care team to make improvements
  • Attend one readiness call between February – March
  • Attend five 2-hour synchronous virtual sessions between March – July
  • Participate in coaching or group check-in calls
  • Engage in testing changes in their clinical setting and submit monthly report template with data on key measures for improvement

Funding Available to Participate

There is no cost to participate, and no quality improvement experience is necessary. Funding is available for participants who are not compensated through salary or contract to attend learning sessions, coaching/check in calls and completion of quick and simple data collection each month.

APPLAUD Action Series TIMELINE

January 2025 – February 2025
Team Enrollment & Pre-Work
March 25, 2025
Learning Session 1
April 8, 2025
Check In Call
April 29, 2025
Learning Session 2
May 13, 2025
Check In Call
May 27, 2025
Learning Session 3
Early June
1:1 Coaching Call
June 24, 2025
Learning Session 4
Early July
1:1 Coaching Call
July 22, 2025
Learning Session 5

Learning Sessions (0800 – 1000 PT) and Check In Calls (0800 – 0900 PT) are mandatory to attend. Coaching sessions are highly recommended and will be scheduled with teams.

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Delivered in Partnership

The action series is delivered by Health Quality BC in partnership with the Canadian Alcohol Use Disorder Society with funding from the Ministry of Health. APPLAUD is delivered in collaboration and support from health system partners including people with lived/living experience, clinical experts, the BC Centre on Substance Use and Doctors of BC.

Learn From Experience

Watch this short clip featuring Andrew Ashley, a rural family physician practicing in Princeton, BC, sharing his experience in treating and supporting patients in meeting their AUD care goals. By joining APPLAUD, participants can hear from speakers like Andrew to gain knowledge, skills and tools to apply to their own practice.

APPLAUD Actions Series
Frequently Asked Questions

Anyone who is interested in improving AUD care in primary care! Participants are highly encouraged to apply with their primary care teams. APPLAUD teams will ideally have 3-4 team members, and can be composed of physicians, medical office assistants, nurses and nurse practitioners, mental health/substance use service practitioners, and/or other allied health professionals.

There is no charge to participate in the APPLAUD Action Series.

Funding is available for a medical office assistant and practitioners who take time away from clinical care to participate in action series activities. Compensation is available based on current sessional rates for practitioners’ time (who are not being funded through salary or contract) to attend learning sessions and coaching calls. Time to engage in project work outside of official action series calls and sessions will not be compensated through HQBC.

Have a question that’s not answered here? Reach out to us at substanceuse@healthqualitybc.ca.

Ready to improve the quality of primary care for patients living with AUD?

Register Now