On-demand webinar - The opioid dependence treatment landscape is changing: What every GP needs to know

In this on-demand webinar we explore the new era in opioid dependence treatment and unpack the implications of these transformative changes, highlighting how they democratise access to treatments, including long-acting injectable buprenorphine (LAIB). While LAIBs play a critical role, they are part of a broader treatment landscape. Our discussion therefore not only focuses on medication options but also underlines the importance of holistic care, encompassing individual, family and community perspectives. This CPD activity will give prescribers the knowledge and tools to navigate these changes, driving improved patient outcomes and challenging long-standing inequities in care.

Duration: 1 hour

Professional development: CPD 1 hr Educational Activities

Learning outcomes:

By completing this learning activity, participants will be able to:

• Understand opioid dependence and treatment options
• Compare daily opioid dependence treatment (ODT) and long acting injectable buprenorphine (LAIB) options
• Appraise LAIBs within the whole treatment landscape with a focus on holistic care
• Examine the changing role of GPs and pharmacists in opioid dependence treatment
• Develop strategies for patient-centred care in the evolving opioid treatment landscape.

Presented by Dr Hester Wilson, Dr Thomas Lu and Joel Hillman

Dr Hester Wilson

A GP and Addiction specialist, chair of the RACGP Addiction Special Interest Group, a clinician with many years clinical and teaching experience, Hester works as Clinical Director for Murrumbidgee Drug and Alcohol, for NSW Health and in private GP practice in Sydney. She is currently undertaking a PhD focused on GPs’ experience of patients with chronic pain and prescription opioid use disorder.

Dr Thomas Lu

Thomas is a specialist GP with an interest in addiction medicine with a large cohort of patients on the opioid treatment program (OTP). He is also undertaking further training at the Langton Centre for Drug and Alcohol and works a day a fortnight in a custodial setting.

Joel Hillman

Joel is a drug and alcohol pharmacist and practitioner-educator at the University of Sydney. He is passionate about substance-related care and access. Joel was a clinical pharmacist in the Australian clinical trials of depot buprenorphine and coordinated the NSW Pharmacist-Administered Depot Buprenorphine Pilot.

This session is sponsored by Camurus.