US EditionMajor Crackdown on Medicinal Cannabis, Doctor Writes 17k Scripts
AUSTRALIA, JUL 8 – The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency issued new medicinal cannabis prescribing rules after more than 10,000 prescriptions were given in six months amid rising patient concerns.
- Australia's healthcare watchdog, AHPRA, issued new guidelines on Wednesday to regulate medicinal cannabis prescribing amid concerns nationwide.
- These measures respond to rising prescriptions since Australia legalized medicinal cannabis in 2016 via a special access scheme.
- AHPRA found cases where practitioners wrote over 10,000 scripts in six months, with one issuing 17,000, often without proper patient assessments.
- Professor Wayne Hall said profit is the main driver behind high prescription rates amid clinics prescribing mainly cannabis products for unapproved conditions.
- The crackdown aims to curb poor prescribing practices that risk patient harm, including cannabis-induced psychosis, and ensure therapeutic need guides prescriptions.
15 Articles
15 Articles
A script every five minutes: 'Red flags' amid Australia's medicinal cannabis rise
While the health regulator has raised concerns about a "poor practice" of medicinal cannabis prescriptions, some advocates say there is still a "stigma" among GPs in issuing the scripts.
Practitioners targeted in medicinal cannabis crackdown
Australia's healthcare watchdog has issued new guidelines for medicinal cannabis after cases of patients in emergency departments with induced psychosis, consults lasting less than a minute and doctors issuing more than 10,000 scripts in a six-month window.The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) is responding to evidence of poor practices, including over-serving and ethical grey areas, which have raised concerns that practi…
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