Karine Meador Profile picture
Practicing fierce, fearless, relentless, and evidence based addiction medicine since 2008. Disabled and shame-free since birth. She/her.
Sep 24, 2020 21 tweets 4 min read
There's certainly a lot to digest from yesterday's Q2 Alberta Opioid Response Surveillance Report. alberta.ca/opioid-reports…
The numbers, to put it plainly, are devastating.
Long and educational thread to follow on one aspect of the report that I struggle to understand. On page 4, there is a section titled "AHS Opioid Dependency Program - An example of impacts during pandemic peak". It shares the following data: Image
Mar 22, 2020 11 tweets 2 min read
A few issues have arisen unfortunately amongst OAT providers as we adjust care to keep our patients safe and able to practice physical distancing. I think it is important to share these problems: 1. Alberta Health has given a directive that all pharmacies are only able to dispense a maximum of a 30 day supply of any medication in order to prevent shortages.
Dec 29, 2019 5 tweets 1 min read
26 more hours.
I went on call Monday December 23rd at 8am. I've been at work, full day every day over the holidays.
My pager turns off tomorrow 10pm.
We always get slammed with consults on Sundays.
The countdown is on.
Think of me friends.
26 more hours. Last day of call update #1: Our office is flooded. 13 more hours.
Aug 20, 2019 12 tweets 2 min read
In light of the government's announcement today on the review of current and proposed SCS and the debate happening right now in Lethbridge city council, I'd like to say something very clearly:
I support supervised consumption services in Alberta.
I support harm reduction. 1/ This is important to say. It is important to not be silent. Silence comes from a place of privilege, the privilege of not being directly impacted by the question at hand. The same goes for remaining neutral or "both sides"'ing if you will. 2/
Jul 18, 2019 4 tweets 2 min read
Great thread by @ginettafammed who pushes me to think about things in new ways. "Healthcare/social systems tend to be designed for the typical, and systematically exclude those who don't fit" is exactly what scares me when I hear those with influence talk about a return to focusing on "recovery models".
Dec 18, 2018 11 tweets 4 min read
I've seen this retweeted several times in the last few days with many calls to action for better management of opioid use disorders and its consequences in the ED. It has made me reflect on the work we do in Edmonton, Alberta at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. 1/ I could not be more proud of the work @TeamARCH under the leadership of @kathryndong does to prevent this exact scenario. We launched back in 2014 and have been hard at work since then. Our team was a lot smaller then - 2/