Australian biotech Medigrowth has unveiled a new telehealth platform designed to help patients who have struggled to obtain medicinal cannabis prescriptions from their regular doctors.
Named Haiku Health, the service will operate with five GPs and Authorised Prescribers handling consultations and prescriptions, as Medigrowth looks to give patients greater agency over their own healthcare decisions.
Co-founder Todd McClellan said that despite growing recognition of medicinal cannabis as a treatment option for certain conditions, too many patients are still being turned away.
"This is about empowering patients. One of the things that we found when people talked to us directly about medicinal cannabis was the pushback they got from their GP," he said. "That created a level of frustration. Too many people are either not getting a positive response or they don't feel comfortable discussing it with their GP.
"That is why we launched Haiku Health."
Medigrowth chief executive and co-founder Adam Guskich said he has personal experience of the barriers patients continue to face in accessing the medication.
"Medical cannabis has the potential to become the medicine for the masses," he said. "The team and I are not only business owners, we're also patients, and we've seen how hard it can be for Australians to get medical advice on plant-based medicines.
"Haiku Health was built to reduce that friction and ensure that patients can be proactive in tackling health challenges and are able to get the right advice from a professional.
McClellan added: "We want patients to be able to say 'here is my problem, this is the medication I am taking, I am not getting a result, I'd like to try something different'.
"Speaking to an audience which is receptive to that will help make it a seamless experience.
"One of the challenges with medicinal cannabis is that every single GP in Australia can prescribe through the Special Access Scheme but many make the choice to only prescribe conventional medication, and that causes this challenge."
Medigrowth currently has three products in the Australian market — two oils and a flower — all sourced from a local grower. McClellan emphasised that Haiku Health's GPs will have access to a wide selection of products when writing prescriptions.
Separately, the company continues to work with Deakin University on a randomised controlled trial examining the treatment of autism, with preliminary results anticipated later this year.
