In a rare show of solidarity, the RACGP and AMA NSW have teamed up with the Pharmacy Guild and the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia to call for medicinal cannabis reform.
Four health organisations have written to the NSW health minister with “grave concerns” that vertically integrated medicinal cannabis clinics are exploiting drug advertising loopholes and allowing potentially inappropriate prescribing to take place.
According to the NSW branches of the RACGP, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) and the AMA NSW, the closed loop arrangements of single-issue medicinal cannabis clinics which also act as dispensaries effectively create a “production line” for the supply of these products.
“The telehealth prescriber sends the prescription to a dispensary owned by the same operation, and if the patient does choose to use their regular pharmacy – they’re hit with a surcharge,” RACGP NSW chair Dr Rebekah Hoffman told Rheumatology Republic.
All four health organisations are of the opinion that pharmacies which only dispense cannabis as part of a closed-loop arrangement should not be allowed “pharmacy” approval.
The letter comes just one week after the Pharmacy Board of Australia advised pharmacists to exercise their independent judgement on whether a medicinal cannabis prescription was safe and appropriate before filling it.
“… Warning pharmacists to be careful and diligent when supplying prescribed medicinal cannabis products is important; however, there are many other factors at play in cracking down on poor practice when it comes to medicinal cannabis,” Dr Hoffman said.
“For example, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency identified one pharmacist who dispensed 959,000 cannabis products in a single year, which is about 2600 products a day.”
The letter also called for the government to zero in on the “cynical promotion” and “questionable marketing techniques” of vertically integrated cannabis clinics.
While it is illegal for a company to outright advertise a prescription drug, the four health bodies said that some clinics have been able to exploit a loophole by contacting patients via email and SMS asking if they need another script.
“Aggressive marketing tactics undermine the integrity of the health system and the proliferation of online clinics and vertically integrated models fragment care, bypassing a patient’s regular healthcare providers,” said NSW Guild president Mario Barone.
“Community pharmacists are committed to supporting patient health.
“Prescribing and dispensing arrangements must put patient safety, clinical evidence, and continuity of care first.”
According to the RACGP, at least one patient who was prescribed medicinal cannabis and experienced a psychotic episode was bombarded with messages from the clinic asking them if they required a new script.
The group is seeking a meeting with health minister Ryan Park to discuss policy solutions.
