Orticare

Orticare is the name we created for the Grampians Loddon Mallee Pharmacotherapy Network, one of three organisations set up by the Victorian Government to help with the provision of information and support for people who have become addicted to opiates (morphine, etc), mostly through prescription.

What is Pharmacotherapy?

Pharmacotherapy – also called opioid replacement therapy (ORT) or opioid substitution therapy (OST) – is an effective medical treatment to reduce people’s use of heroin or other addictive drugs.

Opioid dependence is a complex health condition that affects people from all walks of life – not only injecting drug users but also people who become addicted to pain relievers through a range of different circumstances. Long-term treatment and care involving medications have been proven to:

• Reduce the use of heroin or other opiates
• Reduce the rate of criminal activity in the community
• Prevent the spread of blood-borne viruses
• Assist people to stabilise their lives and lead more productive lives
• Reduce illness and death related to drug taking.

In Victoria the most common way to access this treatment is through general practitioners, who prescribe the medication, and local pharmacists, who dispense it.