Alberta’s Correctional Health Services has transformed access to opioid addiction treatment for people in provincial correctional facilities.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 14, 2026

Calgary, Alberta— People entering Alberta’s provincial correctional centres can now access treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) in less than one day thanks to an innovative partnership between Correctional Health Services (CHS) and the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program (VODP).

A new peer reviewed article published in Healthcare Quarterly and co-authored by CoRE scientists, examines the changes in Alberta’s CHS and how those changes have transformed access to life-saving opioid agonist therapy (OAT), providing a blueprint for other Canadian correctional systems that want to help people recover from OUD while in custody and after release.

Prior to implementing VODP in correctional facilities, the wait times for people to access OAT were often longer than the average length of stay for individuals in some remand facilities. This means that many people were released before they could receive life-saving OAT treatment. The study found that:

• July 2022 to less than one day (0.74 days) by June 2023.
• The number of people who started OAT while in custody has increased more than five-fold since 2019.
• Drug related deaths within one year of release from an Alberta correctional facility declined by 67% from 2021 to 2023.
• Following the launch of the collaboration between Recovery Alberta’s VODP and Alberta CHS, waitlists for OAT had all but disappeared in Alberta correctional facilities by June 2023.

“These findings demonstrate that timely OUD screening and access to OAT in correctional facilities are critical factors in recovery and can be done effectively at scale,” says Dr. Nathaniel Day, CoRE’s Chief Scientific Officer and co-author of this study. “Alberta’s data shows that removing barriers to care for people with OUD can fundamentally change their recovery journey, while in custody and once they are released back into society.”

“The opioid agonist therapy (OAT) program is delivering measurable results and ensuring consistent care for individuals across Alberta Corrections”, says Angela Draude, Recovery Alberta’s Senior Operating Officer, Forensics and Correctional Health Services. “We are seeing fewer opioid-related harms, and increased patient outcomes and confidence as individuals prepare for life after release.”

The collaboration uses an innovative approach in which correctional staff screen people in custody for OUD upon intake, and medications can be prescribed virtually by a physician with the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program (VODP) without lengthy delays or additional resources. In addition to this program, partnerships with police detachments across Alberta are allowing addiction screening and treatment to begin before individuals even arrive at provincial correctional facilities.

These findings support a growing body of evidence that timely access to addiction treatment and strong connections between correctional and community-based healthcare services are an important piece of the opioid use disorder recovery journey.

The study, Optimizing Opioid Addiction Treatment in Correctional Centres: Learnings From Alberta, Canada, was co-authored by Dr. Nathaniel Day, Dr. Kevin Wipf, Dr. Shelly Vik, Angela Draude, and Dr. Shannon Gravely.

About Core

Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence (CoRE) is committed to transforming how recovery is understood and achieved in Canada and around the world. The Centre’s mission is to empower decision making with the best available information to support recovery for those with mental illness or addiction.

About VODP

The Virtual Opioid Dependency Program (VODP) offers same day access to opioid agonist treatment (OAT) for all Albertans who need it. The program also provides transitional care for people moving across treatment settings, provides low barrier treatment access, and ongoing treatment supports for individuals residing in locations without other ongoing care supports. Learn more at https://vodp.ca

Media Contact

Michelle Gurney 

COMMUNICATIONS LEAD 

Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence 

Email: communications@recoveryexcellence.org 

Phone: 403-431-0759 

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