The Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, based at St. Joe’s West 5th campus, conducts state-of-the-art research on the causes, consequences, and treatments of addiction. As Canada’s opioid crisis continues, cannabis use climbs, and alcohol-related harms remain, researchers and clinicians at St. Joe’s are exploring innovative techniques to improve the success rates of substance use treatments and expand access to crucial addiction services.
One method that is gaining popularity is called measurement-based care (MBC). MBC helps to inform decision-making about treatments through patient-reported symptom-rating scales and other validated measures used at the outset of treatment or intermittently during clinical visits.
This technique is beneficial for patients, care providers, and organizations. Patients benefit from a greater understanding of their condition and the ability to monitor their symptoms in a more structured way. They are empowered to be more alert to changes in their condition and encouraged to be more actively involved in their own care, leading to better relationships with their care providers.
In turn, care providers get a new tool that can help identify whether patients are improving. This means clinicians can become aware of the need to adjust therapies quicker than they might without MBC.
Finally, organizations benefit from aggregate data that can inform quality improvement and identify opportunities to improve care.
With a $1.2 million grant from Health Canada, the Peter Boris Centre is supporting the implementation, clinical automation, and workforce development of measurement-based care for drug addiction at St. Joe’s. The funding was approved in late 2022 as part of the federal government’s Substance Use and Addictions Program (SUAP).
The funding will allow the Peter Boris Centre to expand St. Joe’s work in developing MBC for patients with substance use disorders who present with a variety of clinical addiction and concurrent disorders. An innovative, patient-centred model will include point-of-care assessment for addiction and comorbidities, as well as ongoing self-reported patient measurements to monitor changes, inform treatment adjustments, and ultimately optimize care.
The project was publicly announced during a visit by the Honourable Ya’ara Saks, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions in September 2023. Minister Saks also shared two other SUAP-funded projects from our partnering institutions in Hamilton.

“This funding is a critical catalyst to accelerate the availability and adoption of important treatment innovations for individuals suffering from substance use disorders,” says Dr. James MacKillop, director of the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research. “There are no ‘silver bullets’ when it comes to addiction, but great progress has been made in developing evidence-based strategies, and expanding access and infrastructure also expands the number of people who are likely to achieve recovery.”