Learning about Opioid Use Disorder (LOUD) in the Emergency Department (ED) was a provincial quality improvement initiative focused on ED care for people who use opioids. Check out some of the informative resources below to guide you and your team on your improvement journey!

Getting Started

This resources page is full of links, documents and online training to support your quality improvement journey to improve OUD care in the ED. In consultation with the LOUD in the ED Faculty, four main drivers for improvement were identified and each Action Period focuses on one of those drivers. Read the full LOUD in the ED driver diagram or click on any Action Periods below to see all related recordings and resources.

Action Periods

LOUD in the ED Action Period 1: Recommended Clinical Decision Support Tools

Implementing recommended practices to inform order sets and guideline development. There is a wide variety of emerging research around buprenorphine-naloxone starts in the ED. We have included a collection of identified resources, Pre Printed Orders (PPOs) and guidelines by our provincial expert faculty to help guide you in making informed decisions for people with OUD…
Learn More LOUD in the ED Action Period 1: Recommended Clinical Decision Support Tools

LOUD in the ED Action Period 3: People- and Provider-Centred Care

Stigma, engagement and access. People with OUD’s long-term relationship with the health care system, as well as their experiences accessing care and treatment, is often dictated by the nature of their first experience with the ED. Having a better understanding of trauma-informed practice, early identification and better clinical understanding of what OUD care looks like…
Learn More LOUD in the ED Action Period 3: People- and Provider-Centred Care

Opioid Use Disorder Care in the Emergency Department Webinars

Co-presented by us and the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use, this series of care-based discussions explored ways to enhance care experiences for the treatment of people with opioid use disorder in the emergency department.

To help support busy emergency department care providers, check out preparatory online material with some of the foundations to providing quality care.

Just the Nuggets

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Buprenorphine/Naloxone in the Emergency Department

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Not Just Naloxone: Advancing a First Nations Perspective

Creating Safer Care Experiences

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Learning about Opioid Use Disorder LOUD in the Emergency Department ED Cover

Learning About Opioid Use Disorder (LOUD) in the Emergency Department (ED) Final Report 2020/21

Learning about Opioid Use Disorder (LOUD) in the Emergency Department (ED) was a provincial initiative led in partnership between us, BC Centre on Substance Use and Overdose Emergency Response Centre with EDs across BC. This quality improvement initiative aimed to shift how EDs care for individuals with OUD. In the context of dual public health…
Read the Report Learning About Opioid Use Disorder (LOUD) in the Emergency Department (ED) Final Report 2020/21

Language Matters

This interview was recorded with Andrew Kestler, Britt-Heidi Bailey, & Reija Jean (Peer Advocate & Vice-President BCAPOM), with support from the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council & LOUD in the ED.

Watch the full interview (18 min) with Reija and Britt or jump to:

Additional Tools & Resources

General OUD Care Resources

General Quality Improvement Resources

Culture Change Toolbox
A collection of tools and interventions for changing culture, each one accompanied by tips on how to apply it.

ATTIC: Activities for Transforming Teams & Igniting Change
ATTIC is a collection of activities that you and your team can use to build teamwork, develop communication skills, enable creative thinking and innovation, and help explore systems.

A Guide to Patient Engagement
This BCPSQC resource covers the essentials of patient engagement, how to prepare for it, where you can find patient partners and how to engage them. 

Substance Use & COVID-19

Substance Use & COVID-19 Resources Check out this collection of resources for people who use drugs, providers and more collated by the BC Centre on Substance Use.

Risk Mitigation in the Context of Dual Public Health Emergencies This protocol is intended to provide clinical guidance to health care providers to support patients in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and overdose crisis.

Ted Talk: Is Safe Supply a Viable Option for the Overdose Crisis? Guy Felicella advocates for harm reduction on behalf of British Columbia’s Overdose Emergency Response Centre, Vancouver Coastal Health’s Regional Addiction Team and the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use. He is also a LOUD in the ED Faculty member.

New Plan G Bridge Coverage & Applications

Plan G Bridge Coverage is now available to provide patients with faster, temporary Plan G coverage. Practitioners in emergency departments (EDs), Rapid Access Addiction Clinics (RAACs), urgent primary care centres (UPCCs), and correctional centres (both provincial and federal) can apply for Plan G bridge coverage, using a new section of the Plan G form. Practitioners can then send the form directly to Health Insurance BC instead of a mental health and substance use centre.

Plan G bridge coverage is provided to patients for 3 months, during which, to continue coverage, patients are to see a practitioner in their community to apply for regular Plan G coverage. This new process should provide patients who need immediate Plan G coverage with the coverage they need, and enough time to connect with a prescriber in the community to apply for regular Plan G coverage.

The new Plan G Application Form (to be used for regular, exceptional, and bridge Plan G coverage) is now available

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A guide to Applying for Plan G Bridge Coverage to help explain the bridge coverage application process is available here.

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