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The META:PHI conference brings together people from across Ontario for two days of collaborative learning and discussion about health care for people who use substances. Please plan to join us on April 4-5, 2025!

April 4-5, 2025

META:PHI is a provincial initiative to support health care providers working with people who use substances through education, mentorship, advocacy, and clinical tools. Our annual conference is one of the highlights of our year, as it presents an opportunity for members of our community across the province and beyond to come together and learn from each other. The theme of this year’s conference is Substance use health is community health.

This year’s conference sessions will be delivered virtually, with two days of interactive learning for clinicians, community workers, administrators, researchers, learners, community members, and advocates. To bring an in-person element to the virtual conference this year, we’re excited to announce that there will be social hubs held in Hamilton, London, Peterborough, and Toronto!


Agenda

All Sessions

time icon4 April, 2025 08:30 am to
10:00 am

Welcome and Opening Keynote

1. Welcome
Introduction: Jennifer Wyman
Conference Opening: Kawennanoron Cindy White
META:PHI Updates: Kate Hardy, Meldon Kahan

2. Opening Keynote
Drug Policy in Ontario: Crises and Opportunities

Presented by Dan Werb

Learning objectives:

  • Learn about the current drug policy landscape in Ontario.
  • Identify the likely impact of policy change on substance use outcomes.
  • Contextualize the role of clinicians within a broader continuum of care for people who use drugs.


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Jennifer Wyman

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Kawennanoron Cindy White

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Kate Hardy

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Meldon Kahan

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Dan Werb

time icon4 April, 2025 10:15 am to
11:15 am

Session 1A: Managing Opioid Withdrawal in the Emergency Department

Learning objectives:

  • Understand how to recognize and monitor opioid withdrawal in the ED
  • Develop approach to treating opioid withdrawal using short-acting opioids
  • Identify patients who require additional treatments, opioid agonist therapy, and/or outpatient follow-up
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Taliesin Magboo Cahill

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Justin Koh

time icon4 April, 2025 10:15 am to
11:15 am

Session 1B: The Substance Use Health Initiative: Enhancing Hospital Care for Youth with Substance Use

Learning objectives:

  • Describe a hospital-based approach to enhancing care for patients with substance use and substance use disorders.
  • Identify challenges with and strategies for introducing new clinical practices to health professionals in various clinical settings within a hospital.
  • Discuss how some of these strategies might be applied in their own practice settings.
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Trisha Tulloch

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Linda Nguyen

time icon4 April, 2025 10:15 am to
11:15 am

Session 1C: Research Snapshots

a) What Matters Most When Visiting a Rapid Access Addictions Medicine (RAAM) Clinic in Canada: A National eDelphi Study
Presented by Mackenzie Dowson
b) A Mixed-Methods Exploration of the Characteristics and Perspectives of Patients Utilizing the Virtual Health Addictions Care In-Reach Model
Presented by Erin Budd and Inderpal Dosanjh
c) Youth-Centered Buprenorphine Induction in the Emergency Department: A Critical Scoping Review
Presented by Erin Grennell

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Inderpal Dosanjh

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Erin Grennell

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Mackenzie Dowson

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Erin Budd

time icon4 April, 2025 11:30 am to
12:30 pm

Session 2A: Buprenorphine XR: Alternative Induction Strategies for Challenging Cases in the Age of Fentanyl

Learning objectives:

  • Understand key pharmacological parameters of (partial) opioid agonists and how to leverage these in treatment decision making.
  • Review standard and off-label options for starting the buprenorphine extended-release (BUP-XR) injection.
  • Apply novel strategies to start BUP-XR in clients using fentanyl.
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Tianna Costa

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Monique Moller

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Jessica Munro

time icon4 April, 2025 11:30 am to
12:30 pm

Session 2B: Involuntary Treatment Legislation in Ontario and Substance Use Disorders: Fit for Purpose?

Learning objectives:

  • Understand the current involuntary treatment legislation in Ontario in the context of SUDs.
  • Discuss shortcomings of the legislation, as drafted or applied, from the perspective of families/psychiatrists/physicians.
  • Discuss recent approaches in other Canadian jurisdictions.
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Angie Hamilton

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Valerie Primeau

time icon4 April, 2025 11:30 am to
12:30 pm

Session 2C: Snapshots from BC

a) Early Impacts of British Columbia’s Drug Decriminalization Policy on Harm Reduction Site Operations: Findings from a Provincial Survey
Presented by Farihah Ali
b) The Impact of Decriminalization of Personal Possession of Illegal Drugs on Drug Poisonings in British Columbia, Canada (2015-2023)
Presented by Sameer Imtiaz

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Farihah Ali

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Sameer Imtiaz

time icon4 April, 2025 01:30 pm to
03:30 pm

Workshop 1: Basics of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy for the Addiction Medicine Clinic

Learning objectives:

  • Describe the key components of dialectical behavior therapy.
  • Engage in a discussion on how to implement these skills in day-to-day substance use health care.
  • Practice psychoeducation and/or a behavior chain analysis with feedback from colleagues.
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Christine Vogt

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Wiplove Lamba

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Edwin Wey

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Tim Guimond

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Perri Deacon

time icon4 April, 2025 01:30 pm to
03:30 pm

Workshop 2: The Moss Park Model: Community-Driven Integrated Care with People who use Drugs

Learning objectives:

  • Describe the Moss Park Model and how it is different from the medical model approach.
  • Identify examples of relational practice to support community-driven integrated care.
  • Reflect on how to apply aspects of community-driven integrated care into their own work/practice.
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Sarah Greig

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Erin Telegdi

time icon4 April, 2025 03:45 pm to
04:45 pm

Session 3A: Management of Acute and Subacute Alcohol Withdrawal in RAAM Clinic Settings

Learning objectives:

  • Explain the rationale for treating alcohol withdrawal electively, as a therapeutic intervention.
  • Discuss clinical considerations in managing alcohol withdrawal in a RAAM or outpatient setting.
  • Outline a protocol for medical management of post-acute withdrawal syndrome.
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Meldon Kahan

time icon4 April, 2025 03:45 pm to
04:45 pm

Session 3B: Care Snapshots

a) BIRCH: Developing a Virtual Hub for Substance Use Treatment Programming within First Nations Communities
Presented by Kate Turner and Elaine Toombs
b) Nurse Prescribing of Buprenorphine

Presented by Katie Dunham
c) Substance Use Health Competencies for All Prescribers
Presented by Miguel Andres Hernandez-Basurto

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Katie Dunham

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Miguel Andres Hernandez-Basurto

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Elaine Toombs

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Kate Turner

time icon5 April, 2025 08:30 am to
09:30 am

Session 4A: Engaging in Substance Use Healthcare During Pregnancy: If Rapport is a Two-Way Street, Can Clinicians and Patients Meet in the Middle of the Road Without Getting Run Over?

Learning objectives:

  • Understand the stigmata inflicted on pregnant people with a substance use history in the obstetrical care system.
  • Consider the importance of establishing a therapeutic alliance in order to provide and receive optimal care.
  • Reflect on ways to prevent providers' preconceptions from interacting with patients' lived experience of trauma in order to avoid barriers to effective care.
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Charlotte Munro

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Adam Newman

time icon5 April, 2025 08:30 am to
09:30 am

Session 4B: Navigating Cannabis Use in Addiction Medicine Practices within a Legalized Era

Learning objectives:

  • Examine the recent data of cannabis use 6 years post-legalization.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the literature pertaining to cannabis for medical purposes and use within Addiction Medicine treatment.
  • Assess mental health risks patients encounter with the use and misuse of cannabis.
  • Identify tools to aid discussions with patients including types of cannabis, routes of administration and amount of cannabis used.
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Melissa Snider-Adler

time icon5 April, 2025 08:30 am to
09:30 am

Session 4C: Pearls and Pitfalls of Virtual RAAM Care: Practical Tips from Real-World Stories

Learning objectives:

  • Understand the expansion and impact of virtual care provision in substance-based care since COVID-19.
  • Identify Stonehenge Therapeutic Community as a rapidly growing community-based agency offering both in-person and virtual RAAM services.
  • Identify challenge and successes of integrating peer support, counselling, and nurse practitioners into a virtual RAAM setting.
  • Understand our approach to managing unique aspects to digital substance-based care including confidentiality, safety, reporting, prescribing, and documentation.
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Katie Dunham

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Sydney DeGuzman

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Jason Perfect

time icon5 April, 2025 09:45 am to
10:45 am

Session 5A: New Guidelines for Methadone Prescribing

Learning objectives:

  • Utilize the concepts of opioid tolerance and risk of toxicity in determining initial methadone doses and titration strategies
  • Identify elements of care that promote retention in treatment
  • Identify opportunities to improve access to methadone and transitions of care between settings
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Jennifer Wyman

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Andrew McLeod

time icon5 April, 2025 09:45 am to
10:45 am

Session 5B: Engaging Your Hospital in Substance Use Health Care: Beyond the Addictions Medicine Consult Service

Learning objectives:

  • Apply the principles of community engagement to support culture change at your hospital.
  • Identify barriers to providing quality substance use health care and strategies to overcome them.
  • Create opportunities to incorporate substance use health care into existing hospital initiatives.
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Kim Corace

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Taliesin Magboo Cahill

time icon5 April, 2025 09:45 am to
10:45 am

Session 5C: Slow-Release Oral Morphine as Opioid Agonist Therapy in the Fentanyl Era: A Qualitative Study of Client Experiences

Learning objectives:

  • Describe the sample of people interviewed about SROM, including the various patterns of prescribing SROM as monotherapy or combination therapy.
  • Summarize qualitative themes about the experience of treatment with SROM, including medication effects, clinic and pharmacy practices, and other perspectives of SROM use in care for opioid use disorder.
  • Discuss implications of these preliminary findings for clinical and policy changes to promote retention in OAT care.
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Ashley Smoke

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Pamela Leece

time icon5 April, 2025 11:00 am to
12:30 pm

Panel Discussion: Enhancing Health Outcomes Through Connection: Peer Support and The Neighbourhood Group

Learning objectives:

  • Describe TNG’s  approach to implementing peer support to improve health outcomes.
  • Discuss the benefits and challenges of bringing lived experience into hospital settings, including the ED.
  • Share strategies to build trust and bridge care between people who use drugs, community and hospital settings.
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Andrew Nash

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Jean-Paul Michael

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Nerissa Maclean

time icon5 April, 2025 01:30 pm to
02:30 pm

Session 6A: Opioid Use Disorder in the Inpatient Setting: 5 Common Conundrums

Learning objectives:

  • Outline practical approaches to manage Opioid Agonist Therapy in hospitalized patients with acute illness.
  • Describe an approach to multimodal analgesia for patients with Opioid Use Disorder experiencing acute pain.
  • Understand challenges people who use drugs face when admitted to hospital and describe opportunities to promote high-quality, patient-centred inpatient care
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Sarah Whynot

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Jennifer Ng

time icon5 April, 2025 01:30 pm to
02:30 pm

Session 6B: Substance Use and Brain Injury: What You May Be Missing and What to Do About It

Learning objectives:

  • Understand and appreciate the value of training addictions providers to recognize neurocognitive impairments.
  • Identify recommendations for accommodating the impact of brain injury in ongoing programming, especially the addiction medicine context
  • Describe resources for staff training and program development.
  • Engage in a discussion on adaptations that will allow them to implement suggestions locally  
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Carolyn Lemsky

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Wiplove Lamba

time icon5 April, 2025 01:30 pm to
02:30 pm

Session 6C: Evaluation of the Impact of Peer Support in the Substance Use Service at Women’s College Hospital

Learning objectives:

  • Describe the mixed-methods design to evaluate the Peer Support Program in the Substance Use Service, informed by peers and community partners.
  • Summarize initial evaluation findings from clinical administrative data and clinician perspectives, as well as service user and medical learner data in progress.
  • Discuss implications of the evaluation for understanding and strengthening peer support available to people seeking care for substance use.
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Walker Akhlaghi

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Susan Dobson

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Pamela Leece

time icon5 April, 2025 02:45 pm to
03:45 pm

Closing Keynote: Creating Your Own Community Strategy to Address the Drug Poisoning Crisis

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Esther Tailfeathers

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is this conference for?

The META:PHI Conference is for anyone who is interested in improving the quality of care for people who use substances. Our audience is usually a mix of nurses, doctors, nurse practitioners, peer support workers, counsellors, administrators, pharmacists, researchers, and other people who care about issues related to substance use and addiction. While META:PHI is based in Ontario, we welcome participants from across Canada and beyond! You can view previous META:PHI conference presentations on our Conferences page at https://www.metaphi.ca/events/conferences.

Is there a conference code of conduct?

META:PHI is dedicated to providing a respectful and collaborative conference experience for all participants. The conference code of conduct is intended to support an environment for learning and sharing. By attending the META:PHI conference, you agree to abide by the following guidelines:
  1. Participants are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner. All attendees should communicate with respect and consideration for others and differing perspectives.
  2. META:PHI does not tolerate harassment in any form. Harassment is understood as any behaviour that threatens another person or group or produces an unsafe environment, including intimidation and disruption of talks or other events.
  3. The use of discriminatory language or behavior based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, age, or any other characteristic will not be tolerated.
We encourage attendees to bring a spirit of curiosity and open-mindedness for what will surely be two days full of collaboration and learning.

What should I do if I have technical difficulties during the conference?

There will be technical support available during the conference. If you’re having any technical difficulties, open the chat menu, click on "Rooms", look for "v-Fairs Live Tech Support", and click "Join", and a representative will be able to help you.

Will the presentations be available after the conference?

Yes! All the presentations that we have received permission to share will be posted on our website after the event. We will send out an announcement when the presentations are available.

Will the conference be accredited?

College of Family Physicians of Canada Mainpro+® Certified Activity:
This activity meets the certification criteria of the College of Family Physicians of Canada and has been certified by Continuing Professional Development, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto for up to 11.5 Mainpro+® Certified Activity credits.

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada – Section 1:
This event is an Accredited Group Learning Activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and approved by Continuing Professional Development, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. You may claim up to a maximum of 11.5 hours (credits are automatically calculated).