Prescribing Medicinal Cannabis in Australia
If you’re a health professional wanting to prescribe medicinal cannabis in Australia but have never done so before, there’s some important information you need to know about the process of prescribing medicinal cannabis to your patient.
In 2018, the Commonwealth State and Territory Health Departments declared they would work together to streamline how Australian medical professionals can help their patients access medicinal cannabis. This collaboration between state and territory health departments has made the entire process much less complicated, especially for prescribers.
A prescriber does not need to be an authorised prescriber in order to prescribe medicinal cannabis, but rather individual applications to prescribe are made for each patient. If you have determined that a patient might be suitable for an unapproved medicinal cannabis product, you can apply via the SAS Category B Pathway (SAS-B). This process becomes easier with familiarity. However, if you see a large number of patients who require medicinal cannabis, you may wish to apply to become an authorised prescriber, which eliminates the need for individual SAS-B applications for each new patient.
Starting Point for Prescribing – SAS Category B Pathway
This category is an application pathway for those prescribing healthcare practitioners such as Nurse Practitioners and Medical Practitioners. When applying to access unapproved medicinal cannabis on behalf of a patient under this category, prescribers must provide a clinical justification for the prescription of the product. The clinical justification should include the extent of the patient’s condition, as well as reasons why other approved products are not suitable for the patient. Applications can be made online and are usually approved within 24-48 hours of lodgement. Please note that supply chain constraints can delay the dispensing of medicinal cannabis products.
How to become an Authorised Prescriber
There are two pathways in which you can become an Authorised Prescriber, the ‘established history of use pathway’ and the ‘standard pathway’.
Authorised Prescriber – Established Use Pathway
A medical practitioner can apply via the established use pathway if they wish to prescribe pre-specified medicinal cannabis products for specific indications in approved dosing forms, which are included in the TGA’s list of medicinal cannabis medicines with an established history of use. For this pathway, a medical practitioner may apply to become an Authorised Prescriber without the approval of a Human Research Ethics Committee or endorsement from a college specialising in medicinal cannabis
Authorised Prescriber – Standard Pathway
This pathway requires approval from a human research ethics committee (HREC) or endorsement by a specialist college which must be obtained before applying to the TGA.
For more information regarding the regulations applying to Authorised Prescribers, please to the TGA website.
Authorised Prescriber Obligations
As an Authorised Prescriber, you can supply the product directly to patients under your immediate care without requiring approval for individual patients. Authorised Prescribers must report the number of patients they treat every six months, and the use of the product must be reported twice yearly, covering each period between 1 January to 30 June and 1 July to 31 December.
Do you require extra guidance?
Prescribing Medical Cannabis for the first time may be challenging. Our representatives can guide you through prescribing medicinal cannabis for your patient, saving you time and effort. Click here to view the contact info of our representatives by region.
