Our actions
Here are our key activities with stakeholders to combat Canada’s opioid crisis.
As a result of our participation in the national Opioid Conference and Summit, co-hosted by Health Canada and the Ministry of Health and Long term Care of Ontario, we are committed to providing the following resources by November 2017:
Developing a multi-pronged action plan to instill and promote safer opioid prescribing practices with our Fellows including:
- The development of a statement of principles on safe opioids prescribing practics and,
- Creating an online resource for Fellows, including reference materials related to pain management and safer opioid prescribing practices, in consultation with relevant Royal College committees and partner experts across Canada.
*Availability and scope of resources materials will be updated quarterly
Our Timeline


We have participated in these events and partnerships:
Opioid Conference and Summit –Joint Statement of Action to Address the Opioids Crisis
In November 2016, the Royal College participated in the Opioid conference and summit with 42 provincial and federal organizations, co-hosted by Health Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC). Following the 2-day meeting, the Royal College became a signatory to Joint Action Plan.
Pan Canadian Collaborative on Education for Improved Opioid Prescribing
- The Royal College is a proud member of the Pan-Canadian Collaborative on Education for Improved Opioid Prescribing focused on action across multiple sectors and jurisdictions relevant to physicians, their patients, and their communities.
- Formed to address the harms of prescription opioids, by offering multi-dimensional expertise in sustainable physician learning and practice, creation and aggregation of knowledge, and translation of evidence into practice.
- Led by the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC), the partnership consists of numerous national organizations:
Our Partners








These resources will be regularly updated as new evidence and resource become available.
Our Resources ▼
- Brief/Article
- Course
- Environmental Scan
- Evidence Review
- Guideline
- Stepwise Approach for the Prescription of Opiates for Non-Cancer Pain: A Review of Clinical Evidence and Guidelines
- Guideline for Management of Primary Headache in Adults (2012)
- PDF format Electronic App
- Managing dyspnea in patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Palliative Care for the Patient with Incurable Cancer or Advanced Disease - Part 2: Pain and Symptom Management
- 2017 Canadian Guideline for Opioids for Chronic Pain
- Clinical Toolkit: Rethinking Meperidine (Demerol)
- Opioid Manager - Switching Opioids
- Confronting Pain Management and the Opioid Epidemic
- Inventory
- Position Statement
- Safety Alert
- Safety Bulletin on Advanced Opioid Safety for Children in Hospitals
- Decimal Point in New Strength of HYDROmorph Contin Leads to an Opioid Overdose
- Deaths Associated with Medication Incidents: Learning from Collaborative Work with Provincial Offices of the Chief Coroner and Chief Medical Examiner
- Opioid-Related Incident in a Long-Term Care Home