Quick facts
- Register now for the upcoming Mainpro+ accredited webinar, Public Health Updates for Halton Physicians: Focus on opioids and pain (external link). The session “From guidelines to practice: Safe opioid prescribing made practical (external link)” is on June 17 from 7-8 p.m.
- Join pain medicine expert, Dr. Hance Clarke (President, Canadian Pain Society and Director of Pain Services and the Pain Research Unit at Toronto General Hospital) and Dr. Joanna Oda (Associate Medical Officer of Health at Halton Region Public Health), to learn more about:
- describing current patterns and trends of opioid use and opioid-related harms in Halton Region and across Ontario
- summarizing and implementing key recommendations from the 2025 Canadian Opioid Prescribing Guideline for Chronic Non-Cancer Pain
- applying effective chronic pain and addiction management strategies for patients who use opioids
- referring patients to local and regional resources for multidisciplinary pain management, harm reduction services and addiction treatment to support comprehensive patient care
- Safer opioid prescribing remains critical in preventing patients from turning to unregulated sources for pain management, such as fentanyl which contributed to 75% of opioid overdose deaths in Halton in 2024.
Key messages for healthcare providers
- Current information on opioid screening, reporting and treatment is available on the Substance Misuse – Alcohol, Tobacco, Vaping, Cannabis and Opioids Information for Physicians page on halton.ca/physicians.
- Sign up online for monthly snapshot reports of opioid activity in Halton Region, including paramedic services calls and emergency department visits.
Public Health Updates for Halton Physicians: Focus on opioids and pain
From guidelines to practice: Safe opioid prescribing made practical
Safer opioid prescribing remains critical in preventing patients from turning to unregulated sources for pain management, such as fentanyl which contributed to 75% of opioid overdose deaths in Halton in 2024. Please join us as we learn about the updated opioid prescribing guidelines and supporting patients in managing their pain.
Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Time: 7-8 p.m.
Register online (external link)
Learning objectives
Overall series learning objective:
By attending the Public Health Updates for Halton Physicians series, participants will be able to identify and discuss relevant and recent information about approaches to the prevention, diagnosis and management of key public health issues impacting their family medicine practice in both rural and urban settings.
Learning objectives for this session:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Describe current patterns and trends of opioid use and opioid-related harms in Halton Region and across Ontario.
- Summarize and implement key recommendations from the 2025 Canadian Opioid Prescribing Guideline for Chronic Non-Cancer Pain.
- Apply effective chronic pain and addiction management strategies for patients who use opioids.
- Refer patients to local and regional resources for multidisciplinary pain management, harm reduction services and addiction treatment to support comprehensive patient care.
Submit your questions in advance through the registration form (external link).
Keynote speaker
Dr. Hance Clarke, MD, PhD, FRCPC Director Pain Services & Pain Research Unit, Toronto General Hospital Knowledge Translation Chair, University of Toronto Centre For the Study of Pain Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, University of Toronto.
This one-credit-per-hour group learning program has been certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Ontario Chapter for 1 Mainpro+® credit. This program is part of a series that has been certified for up to 6 Mainpro+® credits.