Speaker Name: Dr. Nathaniel Day
Session Description:
Opioid use disorder is a medical condition with proven, life-saving treatments. Yet for many Albertans, particularly those in rural and remote communities, those exiting corrections or hospital settings, and those facing barriers to in-person care, accessing life-saving medications has meant navigating a system not built with them in mind.
Alberta’s Virtual Opioid Dependency Program (VODP) was designed to close that gap. Operated under Recovery Alberta and delivered by a multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, addiction counselors, social workers, and pharmacists, VODP uses technology to bring evidence-based Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT) directly to clients, wherever in Alberta they live, offering same-day medication starts, transitions in care, and ongoing maintenance across more than 100 communities province-wide.
The program is accessible seven days a week by phone, with no requirement to attend a physical site. Medication coverage is available through Alberta Blue Cross gap coverage and emergency income support benefits. Clients can reach VODP at 1-844-383-7688.
Since launching in 2018 with 446 unique clients, VODP now serves over 8,290 unique clients annually. That growth reflects both the scale of unmet need and the power of a virtual model to meet people where they are. OAT outcomes are well-established: reduced cravings, elimination of withdrawal, decreased overdose risk, and improved rates of employment and family reintegration. VODP is funded through Recovery Alberta, Alberta’s dedicated provincial crown corporation for mental health and addiction services.
This talk will outline the purpose of VODP, the client population served, how to access the program, high-level outcomes, and funding streams, with a focus throughout on the model, framework, and practice approach that makes virtual opioid dependency care possible at scale across Alberta.
BIO
Dr. Nathaniel Day is the Chief Scientific Officer at the Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence, providing expert guidance on program evaluation and development. Dr. Day is an addiction medicine specialist with a medical degree from the University of Alberta, serves as the Provincial Medical Director of Addiction, within the addiction and mental health, and correctional health services portfolio with Alberta Health Services, served as the medical director for the Centennial Centre for Mental Health and Brain Injury, and Alberta’s Virtual Opioid Dependency Program. With his team at Alberta Health services, he conceptualized and developed the innovative Virtual Opioid Dependency Program. Dr. Day also served on the Minister’s Opioid Emergency Response Commission and co-chaired the Recovery Expert Advisory Panel. His work has been recognized by provincial and national bodies.”