The AFMC’s Response to Opioid Crisis Project has worked in tandem with the University of Montreal’s Center of Excellence on Partnership with Patients and the Public (CEPPP) and their patient subject matter experts (SMEs), to develop a Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) curricula on treating and managing substance use disorder and opioid stewardship. The patient SMEs have been instrumental in integrating the patient perspective within the curricula and in co-creating the Physician-Patient Partnership Toolkit, which aims to provide information and tools for physicians and patients to enhance dialogue and collaboration to improve care.
The project team would like to highlight a few patient partners involved in the development process.
Rona Fleming
From Montreal, Rona has been a patient partner with the University of Montreal and CEPPP since 2017. She has a background in counselling education and mental health.
Rona lives with chronic gastric disease, which led to several medical ailments that had incurred a now resolved opioid use disorder. Her experience has inspired her to co-create an improved Health Care system with patient representation involved in every aspect.
Rona served as an SME on the CPD Topic 1: Injectable Opioid Agonist Treatment (iOAT)
Kevin Lebrun
Kevin was born with cystic fibrosis, and later diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, chronic adrenal insufficiency, and liver cirrhosis. After undergoing a liver transplant in 2009 at the age of 20, several aspects of his life changed. Since then, he strives to help other patients by participating in initiatives that aim to improve healthcare.
Kevin served as an SME on the CPD Topic 5 Pediatrics: Continuum of care from birth to later years.
Annie-Danielle Grenier
Hailing from Montreal, Annie-Danielle has lived with chronic pain since she was a child. The chronic pain intensified as she grew older, and she was first prescribed opioids when she was a teen following a knee surgery and severe sprains. She later learned that she was not responding to the opioid medications, so she stopped taking them. However, her experience has given her knowledge in identifying biases and stigma involved in taking prescribed opioid medications. She aspires to tackle these biases.
Annie served as an SME on the CPD Topic 8: Hospital-Based Medicine.
Annie Pagé
Annie Pagé was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 2003 and since then she has volunteered to lead support groups for young patients, couples and families living with MS. She occasionally makes speeches for fundraisers, participates in conferences on living with MS and associated medication attended by students and pharmacists. She is also a Patient Partner at the University of Montreal, which led her to participate in the AFMC’s Response to Opioid Crisis Project. Annie strongly believes that patients should be involved in their health management regiment.
Annie served as an SME on the CPD Topic 4: Women’s Health module.
Deirdra
Deirdra is a person with lived experience with opiate use disorder. They are from Manitoba, Canada, and have a passion for helping people, particularly those who struggle with substance challenges. When presented with the opportunity to become a part of the patient-partnership toolkit, Deirdra was ecstatic. A project that combines the expertise of individuals with lived experience and academics, is how it should be according to Deirdra. They are excited about this new chapter in Canadian learning and hope it will continue in more fields of study.
Deirdra served as an SME on the PGME Topic 3: Medical Addiction Treatment module.
