In an Australian first, medical cannabis prescriptions will now be on-line and on-demand, as the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has just approved Australia’s first medical-cannabis app.
The app, belonging to Althea Group (AGH) offers Australia’s first contactless cannabis service – after their Concierge platform has officially been registered as a medical device with TGA.
While the platform has been available for medical professionals since September 2018 it only provided information for healthcare professionals. Now, patients will be able to use the platform to order and pay for pre-approved prescriptions online, having the medications delivered straight to their homes. The app will also provide dosage reminders and will record patient’s medication usage for their physicians.
For doctors, the app will allow approved providers to prescribe medical cannabis products to regular patients – without the need for multiple in-person visits. This has the potential to clear up doctors-waiting rooms, as TGA approved over 50,000 new medical cannabis patients in the first half of 2020.
The Althea Group are one of over twenty medical cannabis companies listed on the ASX. Their share price increased dramatically because of the app, increasing 5.33% to $0.40.
For patients, it seems the app has been launched at just the right time, as the contactless access to vital medications will prevent patients from needing to visit pharmacies during part two of the Covid-19 lockdown. Many medical cannabis patients are elderly, undergoing cancer treatment or otherwise immunocompromised, according to data released by TGA.
Speaking to The Market Herald, Althea’s CEO Josh Fegan is excited for the launch of the app:
The ability for contactless sales is probably the biggest development yet for medicinal cannabis in Australia.
However, Althea’s service isn’t available to just any Aussie. Patients requesting medical cannabis prescriptions will not be eligible for the platform before being granted access to the Special Access Scheme by the TGA. You can read all about that here.
