Health committee  That's a very difficult question to answer. If you're asking me as a physician.... I think what you're getting at is whether the physician has a responsibility if someone dies as a result of a medication prescribed by that physician. Is that your question?

Health committee  The prescriber does bear some responsibility. Dr. Buckley addressed that in your last meeting, that the college of dentistry is addressing that issue within their profession as well. Similarly among physicians, when I presided at that inquest that was referenced earlier, it's an

Health committee  With regard to the investigations, in Ontario I'm blessed because our legislation actually gives us the authority to enlist the assistance of police in our investigation, which we do. In the circumstance that you're describing, where we would enter a scene and there would be pres

Health committee  That is correct. I think the RCMP experience in some jurisdictions would be very different.

Health committee  What I said earlier—I think what I said and maybe I didn't say clearly—was that as people age, the source of their drug is more likely to be their prescription. Younger people are more likely to get their drugs from the street, and as you get older, you're more likely to get it f

Health committee  I don't have the numbers in front of me. The majority of deaths from drug toxicity would take place in individuals between the ages of 20 and 50, but the relative rate in the elderly is probably higher. In other words, the incidence per individual in the population is higher and

Health committee  I think one of the frustrations of prescribers, of physicians, is that they have a limited tool box when someone comes to them with pain. Because of the issues of access to non-medical treatment or to non-pharmacological treatment, often the easiest or the most expeditious route

Health committee  In regard to why there's been a change in recent years, again, I think it goes back to availability and to a changing culture in medicine. It used to be that opiates were reserved for end of life care, acute management of injury or post-operative care. However, in that timeframe,

Health committee  Yes, I've come and talked about opiates, but they're not the only drugs that kill people. You're absolutely right. As I said, the other drugs are more likely to be seen in isolation in incidents of intentional ingestion, but not absolutely. One of the difficulties is that people

Health committee  Oh boy. You have only five minutes, right?

Health committee  I also chair our geriatric and long-term care committee that reviews specific deaths in long-term care facilities. This is certainly a hot topic within the industry. The answer is, in selected circumstances, under conditions such that there is a trial of a dose and a withdrawal

Health committee  That's correct. It was the Ontario college, and the title of the report, and it's on their website, is “Avoiding Abuse, Achieving a Balance: Tackling the Opioid Public Health Crisis.”

Health committee  That's the National Advisory Council on Prescription Drug Misuse under the direction of the CCSA, which Mr. Bishop and I participate in.

Health committee  That was released in the fall, I think. Do you remember?

Health committee  It was later in 2013. That's correct.