Pilot project to combat opioid crisis using HIV-reduction strategies expands across B.C.

Following a successful pilot project in Vancouver, an overdose prevention program is now rolling out province-wide.

For the past year the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS has been assisting Vancouver Coastal Health with BOOST (Best Practice is Oral Opioid Agonist Therapy).

The project applied some of the same strategies used to reduce the spread of AIDS.

One-thousand one-hundred drug users took part in BOOST, with 17 medical teams ensuring patients took daily medication, including methadone, suboxone and prescription heroin. Approximately 73 per cent of those on the opioid-substitution therapy had been able to stick with the program at the 90-day mark.

“What we are trying to do is get the science right, get the normative process right and then take that to the clinic, to the front lines and support our colleagues to implement those on a steady way, monitoring the outcome,” said Dr. Julio Montaner, Executive Director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Patricia Daly said that users need to be supplied with substances to replace the illegal drugs they are now using, adding “we need to have a safe supply, not unlike the harm reduction initiatives we introduced in the 90s. It’s really about keeping people alive.”

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During the Canada Post strike announced September 25, 2025, the following measures will be undertaken to minimize service disruption to BC-CfE clients and providers.

  • The BC-CfE Laboratory has transitioned to private courier for delivery of outgoing reports and documents. Results required urgently can be faxed upon request. (Lab Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8775; FAX 604-806-9463)
  • The BC-CfE Drug Treatment Program (DTP) will fax outgoing forms and documents to the provider’s office. (DTP Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8515; FAX 604-806-9044)
  • St. Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy has transitioned to private courier for delivery of medications. We recommend requesting medication at least 2 weeks in advance in case of delivery delays, particularly to rural/remote parts of BC. (Contact Information: Phone 1-800-547-3622; FAX 604-806-8675)

During the Canada Post strike, we recommend that documents be faxed or couriered to our sites, versus utilization of regular mail service

The BC-CfE Laboratory is streamlining reporting processes for certain tests in order to simplify distribution and record-keeping, and to ensure completeness of results. Beginning September 2, 2025, results for the ‘Resistance Analysis of HIV-1 Protease and Reverse Transcriptase’ (Protease-RT) and ‘HIV-1 Integrase Resistance Genotype’ tests will be combined into a single ‘HIV-1 Resistance Genotype Report’.
For more details and example reports, please click on the button below