Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT) Program

If you are requesting initiation approval, the requirements you must meet include:

Registration with the Tracked Prescription Program (TPP Alberta): This is a mandatory step for prescribing Type 1 medications.

Successful completion of all modules of Alberta Health Services’ Alberta Opioid Dependency Treatment (ODT) Virtual Training program: When finished, physicians will receive a certificate of completion. Please include this certificate with your OAT Approval Application Form.

Note: Experiential training in OAT as a treatment for OUD or evidence of appropriate postgraduate training may also qualify.

Have you completed all the requirements? Submit the OAT Approval Application Form >

This application must be submitted to obtain prescribing authorization, accompanied by any applicable supporting documentation or evidence of required training.

If you are requesting maintenance approval, the requirements you must meet include:

Registration with the Tracked Prescription Program (TPP Alberta): This is a mandatory step for prescribing Type 1 medications.

Successful completion of the following three modules from Alberta Health Services’ Alberta Opioid Dependency Treatment (ODT) Virtual Training program:

• Module 6: An Introduction to Opioid Dependency Treatment
• Module 8: Opioid Dependency Treatment with Methadone
• Module 9: Opioid Dependency Treatment with Slow-release Oral Morphine 

When finished, physicians will receive a certificate of completion. Please include this certificate with your OAT Approval Application Form.

A letter of support: This letter must come from the patient’s initiating healthcare provider.

Have you completed all the requirements? Submit the OAT Approval Application Form >

This application must be submitted to obtain prescribing authorization, accompanied by any applicable supporting documentation or evidence of required training.

Exceptions include:

• Regulated members who temporarily prescribe OAT for a patient in an in-patient or correctional facility do not require an OAT approval (initiation or maintenance).
  • Prescribers must be in accordance with clause 6 of CPSA’s Safe Prescribing for Opioid Use Disorder standard of practice.
  • When providing care in an in-patient or correctional facility setting and initiating OAT, making dose adjustments or introducing medications that may interact with OAT, regulated members are expected to consult with the following as soon as reasonably possible:
    • The appropriate community prescriber
    • In-hospital addiction services
    • AHS’s Referral, Access, Advice, Placement, Information & Destination (RAAPID) service
    • Alberta’s Virtual Opioid Dependency Program (VODP)
• If patients require urgent or emergent care, regulated members may proceed without consultation. Patients who present for emergency or in-hospital care should have access to OAT when appropriate in the clinical assessment of the attending healthcare provider.
• Approval is not required to prescribe methadone for analgesia (palliative/chronic pain).
  • To learn more about methadone for analgesia, please visit Methadone4Pain.ca.

Buprenorphine treatment

Buprenorphine is considered a first-line treatment option for opioid use disorder (OUD). It has a distinct pharmacological profile compared to other therapies due to its partial agonist activity, functioning as a mixed agonist-antagonist at opioid receptors.

This mechanism produces a “ceiling effect” at higher doses, reducing the risk of respiratory depression and overdose compared to full opioid agonists such as methadone. Additionally, buprenorphine is effective in suppressing opioid withdrawal symptoms for 24 to 48 hours, supporting its use in both acute and maintenance treatment strategies.

Buprenorphine prescribing requirements

Physicians are not required to obtain prior approval to prescribe buprenorphine for Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT), nor are they required to complete a TPP Alberta form or register with TPP Alberta when prescribing buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD).

Buprenorphine products indicated for the treatment of OUD include:

• Buprenorphine/naloxone (e.g., Suboxone® or generic equivalents)
• Buprenorphine subcutaneous injection (Sublocade®)
• Buprenorphine subdermal implant (Probuphine®)

These medications are classified as Type 2 medication on the TPP Alberta list.

Note: Buprenorphine products indicated for pain management (e.g., Butrans®) are classified as Type 1 medications under the TPP Alberta program and require both a TPP Alberta pad form and prescriber registration with TPP Alberta.