The CPSA Methadone Program is designed to support physicians in providing safe, accessible, effective and consistent clinical care to patients who may benefit from treatment with methadone. There are two aspects to the program: Dependence and Analgesia.
The Methadone Program, and related information, will be relevant to physicians who practice addiction medicine, treat patients with chronic pain, look after patients in a palliative care setting, and/or treat patients admitted to hospital who are already on methadone.
The CPSA administers the methadone exemption process for Alberta physicians. The College also created the Standards and Guidelines for Methadone Maintenance Treatment in Alberta and coordinates the delivery of an introductory workshop regarding this subject.
Methadone Prescribing Requirements in Alberta
To prescribe methadone for analgesia or for the treatment of opioid dependence, physicians
must be exempted under section 56 of the
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act which requires the approval of the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta.
A methadone exemption permitting you to initiate methadone treatment requires appropriate education and experience in a multi-disciplinary setting, or post graduate training. If you wish to apply for an exemption to continue prescribing methadone for a patient that has been stabilized by a specialist, you must apply for a methadone exemption and provide a letter of support from the pain, addiction or palliative physician that initiated the patient on methadone. To be eligible to use methadone for the treatment of opioid dependence, physicians must attend the Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) Introductory Workshop.
Resources
Contact
Ed Jess, Director of Physician Prescribing Practices
780-969-4946 or 1-800-561-3899 ext. 4946 ( in Alberta)
Ed.Jess@cpsa.ab.ca