Cannabis Clinic chief executive Dr Waseem Alzaher says cost is the biggest barrier for his patients wanting to access medicinal cannabis. Photo / Supplied
Cannabis Clinic chief executive Dr Waseem Alzaher says cost is the biggest barrier for his patients wanting to access medicinal cannabis. Photo / Supplied
Health insurers Southern Cross and nib are covering the cost of medicinal cannabis consults with approved providers - a move one prescriber says will remove the biggest barrier for patients and reduce stigma.
Cannabis Clinic chief executive and co-founder Dr Waseem Alzaher said the two insurers had agreed to listhis clinic as an approved healthcare provider to their customers, something he’d spent almost three years urging all major health insurers to do.
“We reached out to a lot of the major insurance companies back in 2020 and at that point in time they were not interested at all,” he said.
An initial consultation at the Cannabis Clinic cost $99, and could be done in person in Auckland or online. Follow-up appointments cost $79 with a specialist or $34 with a nurse.
Southern Cross chief medical officer Stephen Child told the Herald he recalled only one registered specialist at the Cannabis Clinic being approved, meaning only consults with that professional would be covered, not consults with other general practitioners at the clinic.
He said Southern Cross was not “positively doing this to promote it”, rather it was an “equity of access” issue.
“We did not want to be leaders in this slightly controversial space, but at the same time we could not discriminate.”
Southern Cross chief medical officer Dr Stephen Child says the insurer is only covering consults to give patients "equity of access" to treatments. Photo / File
Child said Southern Cross’ cover was for “appropriate” consults only, which he described as concluding with a diagnosis, ongoing management, written documentation and communication back to the referrer. The programme at the Cannabis Clinic would be monitored.
Child had been with Southern Cross since 2018, and could not recall any previous requests for insurance approval.
Nib New Zealand chief executive Rob Hennin said it would cover the cost of consults with all registered general practitioners, whether they worked at a medicinal cannabis clinic or not.
Products not included
Consults included prescriptions, but neither Southern Cross nor nib would cover the cost of medicinal cannabis products, which varied from $100 to $500 at the Cannabis Clinic depending on the potency of the product prescribed and the dose.
Alzaher said cost was the “primary issue” for its patients.
“We think [insurance for] the cost of products will come over time. That’s our wish.”
Child said Southern Cross would not fund prescribed medicinal cannabis products, because they were not approved by Medsafe.
Nib’s Hennin had a similar response: “We are happy to review what we cover, including looking at new medicines, as long as they align with our policy wording. They must be Medsafe approved.”
However, he noted Sativex oral spray, which contained cannibinoids, was approved by Medsafe.
‘Paradigm shift’
Child said the legalised medicinal cannabis scheme was a “paradigm shift” in medicine.
“Historically, if a patient has an issue they go to the doctor and treatment is recommended. In medicinal cannabis, we are advertising a treatment.
“Imagine if I opened an antibiotic shop.”
When asked if he supported the legalisation of medicinal cannabis in New Zealand, Child said: “I support evidence-based clinical practice and shared decision-making with the patient.”
The legalised Medicinal Cannabis Scheme came into effect on April 1, 2020.
High demand herb
The number of inquiries and bookings at the Cannabis Clinic increased 150 per cent in the year to December, Alzaher told the Herald.
The clinic had seen almost 16,000 patients since the Medicinal Cannabis Scheme came into effect in April 2020 - the majority of whom were prescribed products, typically for pain, insomnia or anxiety.
“From children to working professionals, to doctors and healthcare staff, all the way to end-of-life care, and everything in between.”
The most commonly prescribed products were tincture oils; either solely CBD or THC oils, or a combination of both. Cannabis dry flower for users to vaporise had seen “dramatic pick-up” since August, when local product hit the market, Alzaher said.
The Cannabis Clinic offered 21 products to patients, seven of which were produced in New Zealand. Another three flower products were to be offered in 2023.
Potency levels in products varied from lower than 1 per cent THC to as much as 25 per cent, although the latter was reserved for patients with “quite severe symptoms”, he said.
“Most patients don’t want to feel high.”
Cannabis oil is one of the most commonly prescribed products at the Cannabis Clinic.
Despite the growth in demand, Alzaher said users still felt stigmatised and often asked for their medicinal cannabis prescription to be kept private from their partner or family doctor.
“The stigma is definitely real,” he said.
“Generally people associate cannabis with a picture of Bob Marley and green lights in a dark room, with a lot of smoke.
“[But] a lot of these people [users] have families, have jobs that they want to look after and they just want to live a better quality of life.”
