Development of Best Practice Guidelines for Primary Care to Support Patients Who Use Substances

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Patient-Centered Care
• Substance Use Disorders

Background:

• Individuals with substance use disorders often experience mistrust within the primary care system, creating barriers to accessing essential services.
• Improving patient safety and trust is crucial for effective healthcare engagement in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To co-create best practice guidelines with physicians and patient representatives to enhance primary care.
• To address challenges that impede access to primary care for individuals with substance use disorders.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative study involving 22 participants (patients, physicians, health system partners).
• Workshops facilitated by patients and researchers across three phases: cultural safety, guideline development (world café), and validation.
• Development and implementation of an action plan, followed by external peer review.

Main Results:

• Ten best practice guidelines were developed from the patient perspective.
• Key recommendations include trauma-informed care, environmental considerations, networking, resource provision, co-created treatment plans, health maintenance support, timely access to specialized care, advocacy, feedback mechanisms, and follow-up.
• Resources were developed and disseminated to support guideline implementation.

Conclusions:

• The developed guidelines incorporate patient perspectives on primary care access barriers.
• These guidelines aim to equip primary care physicians with strategies to serve patients with substance use disorders more effectively.