Managing drug misuse is a challenge to health care workers because of the social, psychological and physical factors that contribute to drug use. Multi-disciplinary working beyond routine discharge and referral letter has been recommended but no single model of shared-care will be appropriate for all situations. We developed an innovative approach to collaborative working between agencies, which led to early access to treatment of people who misuse drugs and their greater satisfaction with the care provided. This seamless approach to sharing assessment data is reported in this article. It offers a model of ‘shared-care’, which improves services for people who misuse drugs, within current resource levels.