EOI- Hospital Based Addiction Medicine Lead

Company Description

Context:

The Acute Care Lead for Addiction Medicine (ACLAM) is a new position within the Mental Health and Addictions Program (MHAP).

MHAP exists as one component of a broader mental health and addictions ‘system of care’ in which a continuum of mental health and addiction services are delivered using a “stepped care” model. Stepped care is an evidence-based model through which individuals are matched to one of five tiers of interventions, beginning with the least intensive and moving to the most intensive based on each individual’s needs. Hospital-based care represents the top tier of care involving patients with the most complex and intensive needs to improve their health and wellbeing.

The hospital-based care for people living with addictive disorders has historically represented a gap within the health system. MHAP launched the Inpatient Addiction Medicine Consult Service pilot in September 2023 at the Halifax Infirmary location.  This pilot will inform future direction and planning for addiction medicine in MHAP. The aim of such a program is to provide consultation and support to build capacity in acute care to improve the experience of people living with addictive disorders as they become hospitalized, including their ability to complete required care, reduce harms related to substance use, aid with transitions into and discharge from hospitals, and offer pathways to addiction treatment. The goal is to provide this care in a sustainable, effective, integrated, and timely way across the province for the adult population.

Mandate:

The ACLAM will report to the MHAP Physician Lead, Addiction Medicine (PLAM). The ACLAM will co-lead the Inpatient Addiction Medicine Consult Service with the team’s Health Services Manager, focusing on clinical aspects of care delivery where the HSM focuses on operational aspects.

The ACLAM will lead the formation and implementation of a standardized provincial approach to scope of practice, onboarding, training, and continuing medical education of addiction medicine physicians working in hospital-based settings.

The ACLAM will provide vision and leadership in Addiction Medicine care for hospitalized patients with a mandate to optimize access and delivery, advance harm reduction strategies, improve patient outcomes, optimize quality of care across the province through standardization and integration of hospital care with other health systems. This role will work closely with other Addiction Medicine Leaders, acute care physicians and clinical teams, operational and provincial directors and managers, and the Physician Lead, Addiction Medicine and MHAP Addiction Medicine Administrative Co-lead.

Job Description

Responsibilities/Accountabilities:

• Advance the framework of hospital-based addiction medicine care towards a data-driven decision-making framework to support the MHAP strategic plan
• Promote and facilitate the use of addiction care data to obtain improved morbidity, mortality and other key performance indicators measuring the outcomes of people living with addictive disorders who require hospitalization
• Ensure provincial standards are met and maintained for the assigned Levels of Care designation as it relates to addiction medicine, as well as a sustainable coverage model and contingency planning.
• Provide hospital-based addiction medicine physicians with feedback on individual performance and support professional growth and development
• Chair meetings of the hospital-based addiction consult teams (minimum quarterly)
• Organize and chair annual provincial addiction medicine education day
• Provide reports to and receive feedback from the Physician Lead, Addiction Medicine

Deliverables:

Oversees the Central Zone Addiction Medicine Consult Team(s)

Working with the operational co-lead, the ACLAM will:

• Develop a provincial acute care Addiction Medicine Community of Practice
• Define the scope of practice for, onboard, and verify maintenance of competency standards for physicians providing Addiction Medicine consultative care within Nova Scotia hospitals in accordance with Nova Scotia Health Policy and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia 
• Develop a strategy to support hospital-based physicians with ongoing access to training, education, and certifications that support ensuring evidence-based standards of care are maintained across the service. 
• Follow a data driven quality assurance and quality improvement process for hospital-based addiction care
• Develop strategies to integrate hospital-based Substance Use Health Care with other provincial care systems

The ACLAM will participate in:

• The Atlantic Mentorship Network for Pain & Addiction
• The National Addiction Consult Team Community of Practice
• Provincial Acute and Integrated Emergency Care Committee

The Mental Health & Addictions Program will support the ACLAM by:

• Integrating the holder of this position into the leadership structure and supporting a co-leadership model.
• Providing support for professional development by e.g. arranging and covering expenses for a NSH/Dalhousie focused leadership course
• Facilitating the provision of access to data to plan, guide and enable decision making, measure impacts and successes and support quality improvement initiatives
• Providing administrative support in organizing meetings, taking minutes, follow through action items, coordinate and facilitate collaborations and documentation
•  Provide feedback in the form of an annual performance evaluation

Time Requirements:

The approximate time allocated to this position is 0.1 FTE, or approximately 1 day every 2 weeks.

Applications Requirement:

Please submit your expression of interest to Dr. David Martell, Physician Lead, Addiction Medicine, NSH Mental Health & Addictions Program at PLAM@nshealth.ca and include no more than one-page high level description of your experience related to the position.

Application Deadline:   April 6, 2025

Qualifications

Eligibility:

• Physician holding a Certificate of Added Competence in Addiction Medicine from the College of Family Physicians of Canada or an Area of Focused Competence in Addiction Medicine from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
• Demonstrated physician leadership experience.
• License to practice medicine in NS in which Addiction Medicine is within the scope of practice.
• An academic appointment with Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine

The holder of this position will be bound by the hospital by-laws of Nova Scotia Health Authority and the by-laws of Dalhousie University.

Additional Information

Physicians in Nova Scotia provide fulfilling patient care which embraces family life, professional development and community involvement. That's what makes practicing medicine in Nova Scotia unique. Physicians are increasingly attracted to practices that offer team-based care to their patients and allow them to consult with their peers. The size and scale of Nova Scotia allows for better connections across the health care system. Your practice of medicine and your life is richer here. Nova Scotia is more than medicine. 

Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) is committed to being a workforce that is free of discrimination, values diversity and is representative, at all job levels, of the people we serve. Our priority groups are Aboriginal People, African Nova Scotians, Persons with Disabilities and Recent Immigrants. Members of these groups are welcome to apply and self-identify if they wish to be considered under our Employment Equity policy.