Medicinal cannabis telehealth clinics could be required to automatically upload prescription information to My Health Record under proposed reforms aimed at improving patient safety and reducing risks associated with online prescribing.
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing launched a consultation this month on changes that would require telehealth-only providers to report prescription and dispensing information to the federal government’s electronic health record system.
The reforms would apply to all Schedule 4 to Schedule 8 medicines, with medicinal cannabis specifically cited in the paper as an example of the safety risks associated with fragmented prescribing models.
The department said online prescribing services were now an “established and increasingly visible component of healthcare in Australia”, but warned incomplete patient histories could create risks where patients receive treatment from multiple providers.
It cited figures which showed patient access to medicinal cannabis products increased from around 18,000 people in 2019 to more than one million by January 2024, while more than 80,000 prescriptions were being issued each month by mid-2024.
“Much of this prescribing occurs through telehealth and/or dedicated online cannabis clinics, separate from a person’s usual healthcare provider, and frequently designed to provide these prescriptions directly to consumers,” the paper stated.
The department said when medicinal cannabis use was not visible to other treating healthcare providers, there was a risk of interactions with other sedating medicines, including benzodiazepines, opioids, antipsychotics or certain antidepressants.
“This example highlights the importance of comprehensive, shared medicines information to support safer prescribing across care settings,” the paper added.
The consultation is open until July 7, with the government aiming to finalise the reforms by the end of the year.
Share your views on the consultation here.
