VANCOUVER -- Doctors from Vancouver to British Columbia's central coast are being encouraged to rethink prescribing methadone for people battling opioid addictions.

The recommendation is included in new guidelines designed by the Vancouver Coastal Health authority to help stem the growing problem of fentanyl and other opioid overdoses.

Treatment has evolved in recent years, and the guidelines are a way to improve physicians' knowledge of what's now available, said Dr. Evan Wood, the health authority's medical director of community addiction services.

"We've had a good methadone program in B.C., we've had a methadone guideline," Wood said. "But the number of treatment options have increased and we've learned a great deal about how these different treatments compare."

The guidelines encourage doctors to consider prescribing a new medication called Suboxone instead of methadone because it's less toxic and has fewer side effects.

Suboxone incorporates an opioid-blocking drug, and if the pill is crushed and injected, that drug will force the user into immediate withdrawal, said Wood.

"It's much safer than methadone in terms of overdose. Actually, overdoses of Suboxone are rare," he said.

Methadone still has a place in treatment because Suboxone won't work for everyone, and treatment plans should be able to change and adapt, Wood added.

The guidelines also emphasize the importance of recovery programs, recommending that initial treatment is not complete if followup care is absent.

Addict advocacy group From Grief to Action applauded the recommendation, adding counselling supports are vital to recovery, especially with younger patients.

Laura Shaver of the B.C. Association of Persons on Methadone also backed the guidelines.

"As consumers, we would like to be involved in all aspects of the methadone maintenance program, including decision making," she said in a new release.

"Having choices for treatment is an excellent place to start, because everybody is different and that's how we need to be treated."

Wood said the health-care system needs to change to develop more recovery-oriented care and create different steps a patient can proceed through on their way to recovery.

"We want our treatments to be effective, so if someone gets a treatment for their addiction, you should anticipate that they would get better and that you could re-evaluate their treatment needs at that point," he said.