Medicinal cannabis course launched for Australian GPs

HealthCert Education has launched a CPD-accredited medicinal cannabis program for medical practitioners. The Griffith University-reviewed program is quality assured by the Australian and New Zealand College of Cannabinoid Practitioners (ANZCCP).

Registration for the online Professional Diploma of Medicinal Cannabis opened in February and aims to provide a best-practice roadmap for GPs on how to manage common conditions with this emerging medicine, including eligibility, government requirements, products, dosing and modalities of use.

Medicinal cannabis is a relatively new frontier in medicine and has been proven to help alleviate symptoms in a myriad of medical conditions, such as anxiety, chronic pain, nausea, side effects of cancer treatment, insomnia, IBS, some autoimmune disorders, multiple sclerosis and many more. Use of medicinal cannabis grew 10-fold in Australia from 2019 to 2020, measured by the number of applications granted by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to medical practitioners.

The prescription of medicinal cannabis is tightly controlled by the TGA, but medical practitioners can legally prescribe it if they believe it is clinically called for and can showcase relevant knowledge and experience to gain approval pertinent to their state.

Despite the growing popularity of medicinal cannabis as a treatment option for various conditions, there is still misinformation, misconception and confusion among doctors and patients. For this reason, many patients seeking this treatment in Australia are still forced to procure it on the black market. As such, there is a massive demand for skilled practitioners in this field and accredited education to support doctors who wish to become authorised prescribers.

“International research and experience over 25 years shows a legitimate role for medicinal cannabis in improving the quality of life for patients with a number of conditions,” said GP Dr Joe Kosterich, one of the course presenters and Medical Advisor to Little Green Pharma. “Managing the whole person is what we do in general practice, so this approach fits perfectly, but mythology and misconception about cannabis are still prevalent. High-quality education is the key enabling doctors to understand the role of medicinal cannabis and how to prescribe for and monitor patients.”

Medical practitioners can start their online studies anytime and obtain CPD points as well as a Professional Certificate, Advanced Certificate or/and Professional Diploma of Medicinal Cannabis, reviewed by Griffith University, accredited by RACGP and ACRRM, and quality assured by the ANZCCP.

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