Evidence of increased Fentanyl use during the COVID-19 pandemic among opioid agonist treatment patients in Ontario, Canada

Abstract

The use of fentanyl increased by 108% among OAT patients in Ontario during the COVID 19 pandemic. We argue that the persistent increase of fentanyl exposure over time, specifically in the OAT population, suggests that reduced monitoring may decrease OAT's effectiveness and negatively impact patient outcomes.