Scientific Advisory Panel on Opioid Use and Contraindications (SAP-OUC)

• Announcement of Meeting
• Terms of Reference
• Membership List

Announcement of Meeting

Ottawa, Ontario
24 March 2017

The purpose of this Notice is to announce a meeting of Health Canada’s Scientific Advisory Panel on Opioid Use and Contraindications (SAP-OUC).

Given the epidemic of opioid misuse in Canada, this meeting will assess the need to update the current contraindications and conditions of use of opioids. The panel’s advice will inform further steps, if any, to be taken by Health Canada. This may include broader consultation with respect to potential revisions to the labelling of opioid products currently marketed in Canada.

This meeting follows a previous Scientific Advisory Panel meeting held on November 15-16, 2016 which generated suggestions for educational patient handouts and warning stickers for prescribed opioids.

Mandate of the SAP-OUC

The mandate of the SAP-OUC is to provide timely scientific and medical advice on specific initiatives under the Minister of Health’s 5-Point Opioid Action Plan. Specifically, the panel will examine whether contraindications currently included in Canadian labelling of opioids are sufficient or should be modified, conditions of use and whether additional contraindications should be added. The Panel’s responses to questions posed by Health Canada will be used, as needed, to update labelling, including Product Monographs, for opioids in Canada.

For more details, please refer to the Terms of Reference.

Meeting Format

Health Canada will present to the panel, in a closed meeting, summarizing background information, to provide context for the questions posed.

Upon completion of the presentation and discussion, the panel will deliberate in a closed meeting before providing their final advice to Health Canada.

Agenda

The detailed agenda for the SAP-OUC meeting will be posted at a later date.