Clinical Guidelines
There are a range of NSW-based and national resources for health professionals to provide clinical advice around the management of patients who receive opioid treatment and their driving safety.
The NSW Clinical Guidelines: Treatment of Opioid Dependence by the NSW Ministry of Health provides clinical guidance and policy direction for opioid treatment in NSW. They align with national directions and recommendations and incorporate the latest clinical evidence to support health professionals caring for patients receiving treatment for opioid dependence.
To access a copy of this publication, visit the NSW Ministry of Health website, where a complete PDF version and an abbreviated PDF version are available.
Hard copies of the complete and abbreviated guidelines can be requested from: moh-populationhealthresources@health.nsw.gov.au.
Interim guidelines for the treatment of opioid dependence using the new depot buprenorphine formulations are now available. These guidelines were developed to provide a framework for clinical decision making by clinicians and consumers in a range of service settings involved in the delivery of treatment with depot buprenorphine products.
A brief version and full version of the guidelines are available for download now. You can also get additional information, including up-to-date information on prescriber restrictions, by visiting the new NSW Health depot buprenorphine website.
The guidelines should be read in conjunction with the NSW Clinical Guidelines: Treatment of Opioid Dependence.
Assessing Fitness to Drive is a joint publication of Austroads and the National Transport Commission (NTC) designed principally to guide and support assessments made by health professionals regarding fitness to drive for licensing purposes.
These guidelines provide guidance to health professionals when treating any patient who holds a driver licence whose condition may impact on their ability to drive safely, or undertaking an examination at the request of a driver licensing authority or industry accreditation body.
To access a copy of this publication, visit the Austroads website for a PDF version or online version.
NSW Health have developed a driving safety flowchart to assist with managing at-risk clients who present intoxicated at a clinic or service. This resource is intended to be tailored for local requirements and used at emergency departments, clinics and community pharmacy supervised dose administration points.
To access a copy, refer to the NSW Health website for the example template.
For more information on driving safety considerations related to opioid pharmacotherapies, you can complete the Driving Safety education module by signing into your account.