Virtual Substance Use Care, Part 1: OAT Telehealth & Virtual Substance Use Care DeliveryVirtual Substance Use Care, Part 1: OAT Telehealth & Virtual Substance Use Care Delivery
Addiction Practice Pod
This episode looks at how telehealth services like the Lighthouse clinic and POTAL provide virtual OAT and substance use care across BC. It blends clinical detail from Dr Jessica Han with Darlene’s moving account of how one phone call started her recovery from an unnoticed opioid dependence.
38:16•29 Sept 2026
Virtual Care That Saves Lives: Telehealth OAT and a Single Life-Changing Phone Call
Episode Overview
- Virtual clinics can provide same-day or next-day access to OAT and other substance use care, especially for people far from in-person services.
- Comprehensive telehealth models use nurses, physicians and social workers to combine medication support with counselling and social resources.
- Virtual care works well for many people, but high-risk alcohol or benzodiazepine withdrawal and complex medical situations may require in-person assessment.
- Building relationships with local services, pharmacies and First Nations nursing stations is key to making remote prescribing and medication access practical.
- Reaching out once, even by phone, can be a turning point for people who feel too ashamed or isolated to seek face-to-face help.
“One phone call saved my life.”
Gain insights from experts and survivors on how virtual substance use care is changing access to treatment across British Columbia. This episode focuses on opioid agonist therapy (OAT) and telehealth, especially for people in rural and remote communities where services are scarce and stigma runs high.
Host David Ball and co-host Dr Alison Hamilton set the stage with stark numbers: since 2016, more than 18,000 people in BC have died from the toxic drug supply, with fatal overdose risk around 30% higher outside urban areas. Against that backdrop, addiction medicine specialist Dr Jessica Han explains how the Lighthouse Virtual Substance Use Clinic and the Provincial Opioid Treatment Access Line (POTAL) are trying to close the gap.
Jessica walks through how Lighthouse works: patients self-refer by phone, consent to virtual care, then speak with a nurse, a physician, and often a social worker. The team offers "comprehensive substance use services" including medication, counselling referrals, and short-term stabilisation, before linking people to local, longer-term providers where possible.
Many callers have never accessed substance use treatment before, saying that in small communities "accessing that sort of care in their community can be quite stigmatizing" or that driving hours to a clinic just isn’t realistic. You’ll hear detailed discussion of when virtual care is safe, when in-person assessment is needed, and how the team works with local clinics, emergency departments, pharmacies, and First Nations nursing stations to make OAT and other medications actually reachable.
The episode then shifts to Darlene, who shares how an over-the-counter Tylenol 1 habit quietly grew into taking 30–40 pills a day. She describes learning they were opioids, becoming very ill when she tried to stop, and finally calling POTAL: "One phone call saved my life." Her story shows how non-judgemental telehealth support can make it easier to speak honestly and get rapid, life-changing help.
If you’re curious how a simple phone call might open the door to safer, more accessible substance use care, this episode is worth your time.
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