Interior Health introduces virtual addiction medicine self-referral service

People living with alcohol or opioid use disorder now have a way to directly and quickly access addiction medicine specialists.

Anyone can now refer themselves to Interior Health’s Virtual Addiction Medicine (VAM) Clinic using a simple web form. The form, available at www.interiorhealth.ca/vam, lets people easily request an appointment to meet with an addiction medicine specialist. Family and friends can also refer someone provided the person being referred is aware and agrees.

“The toxic drug crisis continues to devastate communities around the province,” said Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. “When someone struggling with addiction makes the brave decision to get help, we need to make it easy for them to get the right care they need, where and when they need it.  Allowing people to easily connect to an addiction medicine specialist through a website along with our new Opioid Treatment Access Line are important steps in improving access to resources and to saving lives.”

“Since opening almost three years ago, the Virtual Addictions Medicine Clinic has helped thousands in our region successfully overcome substance use disorder, offering opioid agonist treatment for withdrawal symptoms and medications to reduce alcohol cravings,” said Susan Brown, Interior Health president and CEO. “With this change people no longer need a referral from a physician and can contact us directly to gain faster access to these important services.”

After someone requests an appointment, a clinician will contact them, usually within one business day. The client is then scheduled to meet an addiction medicine specialist by phone or video conferencing. The VAM team works with the client on a treatment plan that may include prescription medicines such as OAT. Once the client is comfortable with their plan, they are referred to health services based in their community.

The VAM will soon be part of this regional central access line, and will work seamlessly with the new province-wide Opioid Treatment Access Line (1-833-804-8111) announced on August 27, 2024 to ensure that no matter where someone reaches out they are connected with the right substance use service for their needs.

This expansion and other work underway to increase substance use services in IH is part of the recently announced Road to Recovery model. Road to Recovery is a new ‘made in BC’ model of addictions, which establishes a seamless continuum of care for addictions, from detox to treatment and after care. A critical next step in Interior Health’s implementation of this model will be to bring the expanded VAM and other substance use resources into a single access line where people can call to get information, receive a same day clinical assessment and get an individualized substance use care plan.

All this will ensure clients residing in Interior Health can more easily be connected to services in their region. These new services will be especially beneficial to individuals living in rural and remote communities where accessing in-person care closer to home can be challenging.

“The intent of this new service is to get clients into care as soon as possible by removing any stigma that may be associated with accessing addiction health services in person,” says Debi Morris, director, MHSU Network. “A client doesn’t need to go to a Mental Health and Substance Use clinic or speak to a health-care provider to self-refer. The service is also intended to remove any barriers to clients who can’t easily access a physical location or centre due to distance, mobility or transportation.”

The web form was designed to be simple and straightforward. For example, a client doesn’t need an address, nor a BC Personal Health Number to request an appointment. People are offered the choice in how they are contacted, whether it’s their number, a friend’s number, at a shelter or another place they often go.

The VAM Clinic is available Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. PST throughout the Interior Health region.

For anyone needing immediate help, people are asked to visit their nearest emergency department, or call a 24-hour crisis line:

• Interior Crisis Line Network: 1-888-353-2273 or 1-800-784-2433
• KUU-US (Indigenous) Crisis Line: 1-800-588-8717
• Métis Crisis Line: 1-833-638-4722
• Suicide Crisis Helpline – 988

For other mental health substance use services, people can call 310-MHSU.