Rapid Access Addiction Medicine Clinic (RAAM Clinic)

The Rapid Access Addiction Medicine Clinic (RAAM Clinic) provides low-barrier immediate access and care for substance use management. The clinic is accessible without appointments or medical referrals. The RAAM Clinic staff will share with you all possible substance use management strategies including medications and psychosocial interventions to ensure a holistic approach.

The RAAM Clinic model is very flexible and can be adjusted to suit a variety of contexts.

• Low-barrier – We understand that clients with substance use disorders are often struggling with multiple health and social challenges. Our clinics are open to anyone who wants help addressing their substance use.
• Walk-in – Rapid Access Addiction Medicine Clinics see clients without referrals or booked appointments. Clients are seen on a walk-in basis during specified hours. The walk-in model gives clients the flexibility to attend when they are able to, without the pressure of having to make and keep a scheduled appointment.  9am to noon. (Walk-ins available pending COVID-19 screening at two locations mentioned below.  Please call 905-451-2123, ext. 2 or 1-877-451-2123, ext. 2 to make an appointment or for more information.)
• Client-centred – There is no single approach to substance use disorder treatment; different types of care work for different clients. The RAAM Clinic model is intended to give each client a voice in their own care, allowing them to set their own goals and co-develop a treatment plan with the clinician. The role of the clinician is to give the client a range of options (including harm reduction advice, counselling, and referrals to psychosocial treatments) and help them decide what would work best for them. Once the clients are stable, they are transferred to a primary care provider for long-term management.

Services at the Rapid Access Addiction Medicine Clinic are provided by multidisciplinary team including nurse practitioners and concurrent disorder specialists who provide counselling and links to community services. We also have access to psychiatry and pharmacy for consultation.

The RAAM Clinic is intended to be part of an integrated addiction care pathway. Because individuals with substance use disorders access treatment in several settings (emergency departments, hospital inpatient wards, withdrawal management, community, primary care), clinicians in all of these settings  can give interested individuals the relevant information and people may also self-refer to the clinic, and do not need a referral from a doctor or primary care provider.

SERVICES THE RAAM CLINIC PROVIDES:

• Diagnose substance use disorders and concurrent mental health disorders
• Initiates pharmacotherapy when indicated:
•     Alcohol use disorders: naltrexone, acamprosate, gabapentin, disulfiram:
•     Opioid use disorders: buprenorphine/ naloxone
• Provides harm reduction interventions and advice
• Overdose prevention guidance
• Provides brief solution-focused counselling
• Provides trauma-informed care
• Makes appropriate links to community services for addiction, psychosocial, and social services
• Link clients back to primary care when stable and connects clients to primary care providers if unattached
• Educates and supports health service providers with information about addiction treatment
• Provides advice and support to primary care physicians who have referred patients

Same day appointments available pending COVID-19 screening.  Please call 905-451-2123, ext. 2 or 1-877-451-2123, ext. 2 to make an appointment or for more information. PLEASE NOTE NEW HOURS, DAYS AND CLINIC LOCATIONS.