Project ECHO NL: Substance Use

What is Project ECHO NL?

Project ECHO NL: Substance Use, is a virtual community advancing care and treatment for opioid use disorder in Newfoundland and Labrador. The goal is to help primary care providers and their teams build capacity in the treatment and management of opioid use disorder.

ECHO Learning Sessions

This project offers free, virtual learning sessions using an interactive, web-based platform to link health-care providers with an interdisciplinary team of mentors with expertise in managing substance use care.

ECHO sessions are designed around case-based learning and mentorship and support health-care providers in gaining the knowledge and skills required to provide needed services in their regions.

What is ECHO?

Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is a global movement changing the way clinical knowledge is delivered and disseminated.

Launched in 2003, Project ECHO uses proven adult learning techniques and interactive video technology to connect community providers with specialists in regular collaborative sessions.

The ECHO Model

The ECHO model is an effective approach that engages rural and remote health-care providers, enhances competencies in a given health area, and improves uptake of evidence-based practices.

The ECHO model is based on the premise of moving knowledge, not people. There are currently 960 ECHO programs and ECHO engagements in 169 countries (September 2021). These metrics continue to climb. For more information on Project ECHO, please visit https://echo.unm.edu/.

Primary care providers

Who is Project ECHO NL: Substance Use for?

Project ECHO NL: Substance Use is for primary care providers and their teams, to help them build capacity in the treatment and management of opioid use disorder.

Primary care providers and opioid use disorder

Primary care providers are well-positioned to screen and assess for addiction, connect patients to treatment, and support relapse prevention. However, many clinicians do not have experience caring for individuals with opioid use disorder, may have practical questions about how to initiate and titrate treatments, and may be unaware of local clinical supports and resources.

Benefits

• Project ECHO NL: Substance Use will allow participants to acquire new skills and competencies.
• Health-care providers will become part of a community of learners, increasing professional satisfaction and decreasing feelings of professional isolation.

Contact Us

The Provincial Opioid Dependence Treatment Centre of Excellence is coordinating Project ECHO NL: Substance Use.

Please direct questions to elizabeth.howse@nlhealthservices.ca or hayley.baker@nlhealthservices.ca.