INSITE CAN SAVE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM $20M: STUDY

Keeping Vancouver Facility Open Would Help Increase Population's
Lifespan, Thwart Diseases, Experts Suggest

Canada's only supervised drug injection site can save the Canadian
health care system as much as $20 million and substantially increase a
population's lifespan over a 10-year period in Vancouver, according to
a study to be published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

The study, which used a computer simulation model, measured the
projected impacts on Vancouver in the next decade with and without its
controversial Insite facility.

It found that, when the only impact of such a facility is assumed to
be a decrease in the prevalence of needle sharing by drug users, there
is a projected net savings of nearly $14 million over 10 years.

The facility would also increase the population's lifespan, resulting
in what the study calls a gain of 920 life years compared with a model
that had no supervised injection site.

When additional factors like survival rates, the incidence of HIV and
hepatitis C infections, and the frequency of referrals to social
services were included, the financial savings rose to as much as $20
million, with the number of life years gained peaking at 1,070.

A total of 1,191 cases of HIV infection and 54 cases of hepatitis C
infection could be averted over a decade with the operation of the
facility, according to the study, authored by Dr. Ahmed Bayoumi with
St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto and the University of Toronto, along
with Gregory Zaric with the University of Western Ontario in London.