Consumers Health Forum is alarmed by the recent spate of revelations about ‘ad hoc’ telehealth prescribing of medicinal cannabis.
The Consumers Health Forum of Australia has warned of the risks of “ad hoc telehealth” following an alleged explosion in medicinal cannabis scripts over the past six months.
Last weekend the Sydney Morning Herald reported that one doctor had prescribed cannabis to 12,000 patients in one six-month period in an extreme example of the burgeoning market via cannabis telehealth clinics.
Dr Elizabeth Deveny, CEO of CHF said the model was a “quick fix” rather than telehealth as it should be.
“It’s really hard to see how that volume of prescriptions being made is in the best interests of consumers and how safe practice has been followed,” she said.
“What we are seeing here is not really high-quality healthcare, it’s a high-throughput business model.
“We also know that some of these consultations don’t have a face-to-face requirement. Instead, some of them are run through a text-based service, which we suspect could be AI generated to assess a consumer’s eligibility for a particular medication.
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“This just isn’t okay,” said Dr Deveny.
CHF said it recognised that the model was attractive to consumers.
“Suddenly you see a practitioner willing to give you what you need, so of course you go there,” said Dr Deveny.
She also acknowledged that not everyone was in an ongoing relationship with a GP.
“CHF would also like to see government agencies provide consumer friendly information and guidance to consumers who are considering using telehealth for an ad-hoc access purpose,” said Dr Deveny.
“Currently there really isn’t much consumer-friendly stuff out there for consumers to help make an informed decision with.
“We can surely do better than the current status quo.
“What we want to see is consumers making an informed decision about their healthcare, whatever they decide to do and that choice is respected and the care they receive is best practice and safe,” said Dr Deveny.
