The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) is addressing issues of poor practices and ethical ambiguities, amid worries that practitioners might be prioritizing profit over patient health.

APHRA identified cases where practitioners prescribed medication simply at a patient’s request, issued multiple prescriptions to a single patient to let them find an effective one, and neglected to evaluate mental health properly.

Australia legalised cannabis for medicinal use in 2016 through a special access scheme, which allows doctors and qualified nurse practitioners to prescribe the drug.

According to data from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), there are about 3270 practitioners approved under the scheme who have issued a combined 72,300 prescriptions since 2016.

APHRA published the new guidelines today to clarify that medicinal cannabis is never a first line of treatment. 

Under the guidelines, practitioners must only prescribe to patients once they have conducted a thorough assessment, identified a therapeutic need, created and implemented a management plan, maintained medical records, facilitated continued care and developed an exit strategy.

The national boards have raised similar concerns and are working alongside AHPRA, the TGA and state and territory authorities to understand the patterns of prescriptions and stay ahead of any concerning trends.

“We don’t prescribe opioids to every patient who asks for them, and medicinal cannabis is no different,” Medical Board of Australia Chair Dr Susan O’Dwyer said.

“Patient demand is no indicator of clinical need.”

“Nurses and other registered practitioners must provide holistic care in all areas of their practice,” Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Chair Veronica Casey said.

“They must take their professional responsibilities with them no matter where they work.”